The Legend Of Spyro: The Awakening Of Evil
by Fenrir Connell
Summary: My continuation to The Legend Of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon.  How did the feeling just get lost? Is there really another threat for our existence? This looks like is never going to end... My first Fanfic ever.
1. The End

A/N: Well, this fic got updated: Monday, September 19º.

I added here some improvements mentioned on the reviews page, thank you very much Star Duster The Dragoness, a bit of CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is always good, and I'm glad to know there is SO much I can still improve to be a better _Ficker_.

This is rated T because not even I am totally aware of what I'm going to write in this story, and you guys can be prepared for things "T Rated", as I'm 16 years old, I think I will possibly write things for that age, and maybe a little farther.

There is something IMPORTANT I need to say, please don't expect regular updates (I mean timed, like: Me posting every 2-3-4 Days... Etc...) because High school has started, and it is not on me how many homework I get, That means that some days I'll have LOTS of free time, but other days I won't have time to do anything in the computer.

Just be a little patient, I'll try to post as regular as possible.

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><p>Chapter 1: The End<p>

- "Spyro, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" - The guilt had the same weight of the responsibility Cynder felt for having delayed the battle against Malefor, if there was one only thing that the Dark Master managed to do was to confuse her, had she really been the one who led Spyro to the ambush all the time? Curious thing, she had been the one to tell Spyro not to listen to Malefor's words.

- "Don't be. It's over now." - Said Spyro.

- "So this is it…?"-.

Cynder looked around and she would have liked that all that was just happening in her imagination, had they arrived too late? Now that Malefor was gone, wasn't it all solved? How could everything be going so wrong? She stared at Spyro, who looked like he was listening carefully to something, but she couldn't find any sound. All she listened to was their fall, envolved in fire and mass destruction. Spyro turned to look at her, in the cutest way Cynder could have ever imagined.

- "I know what I need to do. Just get out of here, Cynder. "- Spyro had been lost in thought for a few seconds...

- "Spyro, no… You don't have to do anything. Let's just go." - Cynder felt the depth of Spyro's words penetrate her head, what could be done when everything had gotten so far already?

- "Where, Cynder? There will be nothing left! The world is breaking apart. But I think I can stop it. I think I'm meant to." - Replied Spyro, he had made a decision.

- "Then I'm with you." - Where those really the last words Cynder would ever hear from Spyro? But there was something yet to be done...

Spyro gave her a great smile, the most beautiful smile she could have ever imagined, and then he suddenly started shining and floating in the air, while gathering all his strenght and magic in order to do something noble in the name of the planet they lived in, their home. She couldn't help but to be astonished by the scene developing in front of her very eyes. She didn't know what he was about to do, but it was better than not trying anything.

The world was about to end, there would be nothing alive after that, and there was only one thing she had to do before her death, there was something she really wanted to say, but she never had strenght enough to say it before. Maybe… Maybe there would be no other oportunity to do it…

- "I love you…" – Whispered Cynder. She closed her eyes and stood closer, but some magic force prevented contact. All she wanted was to feel him once more, one touch, for the last time…

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><p>"(I love you… I love you… I love you…)".<p>

These words were stuck in Spyro's head, he would have loved to say something but he just couldn't talk, he was being overpowered, and there was only one other thought in his head: -"(I'm going to die doing this…)"- He was not scared about death, it was going to be for a good cause. His last breath, it would prevent everyone from giving theirs that day.

But he still wanted to say something… Cynder surprised him, he was totally off-guard. Spyro started feeling a great pain, and then, he used all his power. The light turned brighter, he felt a strange heat all over his body and then… The whole world started to get back together. With the greatest effort he could imagine, he pulled the world back together. Strengthened by Cynder's words.

All Spyro could feel was pain and heat, he couldn't even see what he was doing. It all started to get dark, and darker as his conscious faded away.

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><p>Cynder started to feel the light dissapear, the whole flash had been too bright for her to see what was actually happening, but she could still feel. She felt how the small plataform where she was standing started to go up instead of falling. It had all been so sudden, so unexpected.<p>

- "(Did Spyro hear me?)"- She thought with anxiety. But suddenly other though assaulted her mind. –"(What did he do…?)"-.

A few minutes passed until the light dissapeared, she finally gathered courage enough to open her eyes and look, but her sight wasn't as devastated as she tought it would be, it was precious. She was standing in a huge flowered field, the only thing left from the battle she and Spyro had just been through was small pieces of rock, little traces of what had been Malefor's lair. Spyro had actually made it, he DID stop the end of the world.

Cynder looked all around, but there was only one thought in her mind: -"(Where is Spyro?)"-. She didn't care about how fast life got back to the earth she was standing it. The grass was the same, the peaceful wind was the same. Cynder got really worried about Spyro, and only him. She looked around several times. There was a magnificent field all around, but no traces of Spyro anywhere. She started flying, with nothing but concern in her head, Spyro had been with her just a momment ago…

And then, she found him… In the ground, laying, there was a purple dragon surrounded by the grass… And he didn't move at all.

- "Oh, no…" – Whispered Cynder realizing what was going on… The whole world had just been saved from destruction, but Cynder's world started to fall appart again...

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><p>AN:

Thanks again to both of my reviewers, I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with the changes applied to this: The very first chapter of my very first Fanfic. If there is anything else I'm doing wrong, please review and help me get better. Fire burns, but if I learn how to avoid it being better at what I really want to do, it is worth it, Thanks for taking some time to read this.

Until next chapter.

- Fenrir

Update 15-05-2012: I'm updating this chapter with new corrections and additions, specially because I'm posting this story also on DeviantART now, but I'm checking again every chapter for mistakes. I'm leaving the original A/N's untouched. Those make me live the past. LOL.

By the way, I had intentionally changed all the dialogues from the original game, but with new editions I'm trying to make it as close as the original as possible.


	2. Memory

A/N: Well, time for chapter two, I really hope you enjoy it.

Here are some things you might be wondering about, and you REALLY need to know to be able to read this properly.

- The parentheses "()" mean that the character is thinking what is in between them.

- This "**" May be used, not too much, of course, to explain actions while the characters talk.

- And about lines. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS. One line in the middle of the story means we are changing perspective, we'll see the story from other character's point of view. Two lines mean we are changing the scene to another one, most of the times in other place, and other circumstances. And Three lines, mark the start/end of the story/author's note.

Having said that, enjoy the chapter, I really hope is worth your precious time.

PS: Updated Thursday, September 22º. Fixed some spelling mistakes in some parts of this chapter. The fact that everyone has spelling mistakes doesn't make it a correct thing, thanks again, Star Duster The Dragoness, for showing me what I'm doing wrong all the time, about spelling, I think I do it because I type too fast, and don't really stop to look back, sorry if it bothers someone else, I'll try my best not to do it, and if I do it, please, don't hesitate to tell me so I can fix it and keep learning, about everything.

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><p>Chapter 2: Memory<p>

The sunlight was strong and comforting, in what seemed to be a little piece of flowered heaven. High in the great blue sky a black female dragon was searching kind of desperate for something, all suddenly she stopped in middair, looking down in surprise towards the purple spot on the grass.

Cynder flew down as fast as she could to land on Spyro's side, maybe in other time it would have been a perfect situation, getting to spend a really peaceful time along with Spyro… But something was just not right, Cynder landed as loud as she could, but Spyro didn't react at all, his body was shaking weakly because of all the magic he had so recently unleashed. Cynder gently touched his body, and tried to pick any vital signs, Spyro's pulse was weak, too weak…

-"(And he is not breathing…)"- Cynder knew it was almost sure that Spyro would die soon, she had no doubt about it. The power he had to unleash was way too big, she doubted even Spyro could stand that. -"(Why couldn't I tell him before…?)" – A small tear started flowing upon Cynder's face knowing the time was about to come, and then, slowly, Spyro lost any vital signs.

/./

The Chronicler had just finished explainig the situation to the one who would replace him as The Chronicler for the new age, Ignitus the Dragon. Who advanced towards him in concern, with one single question that mattered to him. There was one only thing that could either fill him with joy or confirm the worse.

-"And… What of Spyro? Is he…?"- Asked Ignitus, really worried about what had been of his "Young Dragon" after doing what he had done. Saving everyone, but at what cost for himself?

-"Hmmm, that is the question, isn't it?"- The Chronicler summoned a book that slowly got to it's place in front of him after speaking, it opened itself to the last page written. –"You see, each time a dragon dies, a new page is written in this book."- He started explainig. –"I've done my best, but I can't seem to find any trace of Spyro."-.

A sligth smile grew in Ignitus' face before, all suddenly, The Chronicler got surounded by a great blue aura, and so did Ignitus. Before Ignitus could even notice it, his color had turned all blue, and the elder Chronicler had dissapeared from the room. Ignitus knew how not to let that show, but he had been itching to find something out from Spyro, now that he knew he wasn't dead. As soon as he could he summoned a book and started searching.

- "Well, young dragon… Where might you be?"-. He spoke with a smile while he looked into the pages of the book.

/./

- "(Where am I?)" – Thought Spyro, his mind was floating in the middle of nowhere, he felt lighter than air. Trying to figure out what had just happened.

It was all light, all white, he had no clue where he could be standing… Was he standing on anything? What was that place? So many questions in his mind… What had just happened?

A great blue shine appeared all of a sudden, leaving Spyro blind for a short ammount of time, when he could get his eyes oppened again he was surprised. A great brown dragon was standing in front of him. But there was just something familiar about this dragon… That was a face Spyro had actually got to know.

- "Chronicler?" – Asked Spyro in great surprise.

- "Indeed Spyro, it is good to see you once again. There was something I really needed to tell you before leaving this world." – Replied the Chronicler with a smile.

- "Leaving this world? What are you talking about? Why did you become brown and all?"- So many questions, Spyro didn't even think he could have bothered him with all of those.

- "Your great sacrifice Spyro, has lead to the creation of a whole new age, for all the living. And my age has finally finished… Is time for me to go now, you can choose to go back if you want to, or you can come with me. What happens next is all up to you." – The Chronicler seemed too serious while he spoke. -"But if you decide not to go back, I think I did wrong in getting Ignitus' hopes too up."-.

- "Ignitus? Have you talked to Ignitus, Chronicler?" – Spyro was so curious about so many things…

- "Yes, and I have to say he was kind of surprised with my invitation. But that is not really important now, I can see you have just made your decision Spyro."- Said The Chronicler, looking deep into the purple dragon's eyes.

- "Yes, I really want to be back. I don't even know what this is, where am I…?"- Spyro didn't even hesitate to answer to that. But he was interrupted by The Chronicler before he could speak any more.

- "Then off you go Spyro, take care."- It all started shinig again with the words from The Chronicler, brighter this time. -"Spyro, during your life you will find many hard times, But what you have just done is probably the most noble, and worst thing of all, hard task to perform for a dragon your age, but you have done it. We are all proud of you, young dragon… And remember, you are never alone. You have always had friends who really care about you. Now go back to them."-

- "But Wait! What did I…?"- Spyro was not allowed to finish, his words got faded in the white shine as he started to feel gravity affect him once again… Stronger with every second…

/./

Cynder had been crying for a while now, in front of the dead body of the dragon she loved. She was laying down next to it, immersed in her sorrow.

- "(How could this happen…?)"- Cynder had done horrible things in the past, she was definitely not proud of it. But for the first time in her life she was feeling real sadness, her heart ached knowing that she would never get to see Spyro's smile again, that wonderful smile he had given to her before sacrificing himself to save everyone. -"(Why couldn't I tell him before?)"- She thought she was weak, for being unable to stop herself from crying. She also felt weak because she had been unable to confess her true feelings when she should have done it. Before the end, before the tragedy.

Cynder suddenly heard a slight noise. In the middle of her infinite sadness, she found courage enough to lift her eyes up, to see Spyro's body for the last time, it was already over... But there was something strange, Spyro's body had been shaking weakly before, because of the magic remains on it. But with a noise, Spyro's body started to shake stronger, lifting Cynder's hopes up to the sky.

Cynder ran the few steps that separated her from Spyro and tried to pick any vital signs on him, he had pulse again, the feelings of joy inside Cynder were too great to describe.

-"Thanks ancestors! Thank you so much!"- Said Cynder in joy as she looked down on Spyro's feet, which started to move slowly, like if he was having a bad dream. But alive.

And then, as a great miracle, Spyro took a deep breath. Somehow, Spyro had been saved.

Spyro coughed silently and started to open his eyes, he seemed to get a little blind because of the brightness around. He slowly looked around two or three times, without noticing Cynder's presence at all. And then he talked to himself with a confused tone.

-"Wh… Where… Where am I?"- He asked while looking around for any hint, any clue. But he just seemed to get even more confused.

-"Spyro! You're back! "- Replied Cynder with happiness, she felt like jumping all around after watching his loved dragon come back all the way from death.

-"Yes, it seems…"- Spyro didn't really have any idea of who was he speaking to, after thinking a few seconds of silence, he seemed to have cleared his mind. -"Cynder? Cynder! Is that you?"- Asked Spyro as he looked around, to find her, and look into her eyes silently.

-"Yes! Spyro!"- Said Cynder, infinitely glad about what had just happened.

Spyro tried to stand up, but his muscles failed him, he fell down painfully on the ground. When he tried again there was no diference, his balance seemed to be all messed.

-"Here, let me help you out."- Said Cynder as she offered Spyro her wing so that he could hang on to it. He stood up with difficulty.

-"Th… Thanks Cynder."- Spyro used Cynder's wing as a support to walk, slowly, he looked all around until he saw a big tree not too far away from the place where they were standing. -"Would you mind to help me get there? I seem to be too weak to walk there by myself…"- Said Spyro trying to show her the tree with a move of his face.

-"Don't worry Spyro, I got you."- Said Cynder, offering all the help she could.

They started to advance, at a really slow pace, but Cynder could get it with no problem, she would do anything for Spyro to get better. When they arrived, Spyro laid down in the ground, he seemed too weak to keep talking, but he tried to say something.

-"Cynder, how…? How comes you are so strong after what just happened? It's been certainly harder for me…"- Asked Spyro with curiosity.

-"That may be because you did everything. I mean the hard part"- Replied Cynder. The thought of their recent fight in her mind still beating, their close to death experience was so alive, so strong.

-"Yeah, I guess I did. And how long has it been?"- Inquired Spyro with a questioning look.

-"Well, just about half an hour"- Said Cynder, wondering how could he loose the sense of time like that. -"(Oh, yeah. He just came back from the grave… Fool)"-.

-"Seriously? Because this certainly looks like another place, and another age…"- Said Spyro, who had a face that spoke for itself: "I don't get a word of what you are saying".

-"Excuse me… How long has it been since what?"- Asked Cynder, starting to get worried. Something did not fit in his reply, there was something not right.

-"Since I got the three of us frozen in time. Hey, where is Sparx?"- Replied Spyro, Cynder was really happy to see Spyro was alive… But something was just wrong…

-"Oh my… You…? You don't remember?"- Asked Cynder, now she was looking pretty nervous. Did Spyro really think they just got freed from the crystal?

-"Yeah, we almost get crushed under the well of souls, and then I…"- Cynder just couldn't believe what she was listening, Spyro seriously didn't remember, anything, not even those simple three words that were so important for her.

-"Yeah… Never… Never mind, you should get some rest Spyro. Why don't you try to sleep? I… I'll go get some red crystals and food for you."- Said Cynder as she turned back to go search for said things. The sadness suddenly came back to the depths of her heart, of course, in a smaller amount.

-"Thank you very much Cynder, I'll do it."- Replied Spyro, but Cynder heard those words as she was already flying off to search something for Spyro to get stronger. Maybe his memory would come back on its own?

Cynder left, as fast as she could, she really needed some time. But she thought that she was just being selfish, she should be focused on taking care of Spyro in that moment, but what had just happened seemed unbelievable for her.

The black dragoness had already advanced a lot from Spyro's position, no crystals could be spotted around. It would probably take a while for those to appear, given that the world had just been pulled back together. She was a little weary to fly too far away from Spyro, what if something happened to him? Cynder searched tha area around, with no luck. About fifteen minutes had already passed since she left the purple dragon, but suddenly… Something went wrong…

Cynder somehow felt a great amount of darkness, there was a creature highly infected with the power of evil on it. The problem was… It was not close to her, it was going towards Spyro's position… She didn't know how could she know all that, but there was no good news.

-"I need to get back… Now!"- She had been too worried that day, about many things, but that was never enough when it came to Spyro, she couldn't allow anything to happen to him while he was weak. -"I hope I can get there on time… This can't be…"- Cried Cynder as she quickly turned around, to go over and see what was about to attack the sleeping Spyro…

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><p>AN: Until next chapter, please review if you can tell me any aspect where I can improve. And thank you very much. I also accept complements! Lol!

See you.

- Fenrir

UPDATE 6/06/2012: Told you I would keep the original A/N's! New and revised version is now up! Wait for chapter three in both here and DeviantART soon!


	3. Kate

A/N: Time for chapter three, hope you like it. I worked hard on it.

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><p>Chapter 3: Kate<p>

Cynder turned back as fast as she could, something strange was happening, how did she get to feel darkness in the first place? Now she was flying faster than she thought she could to be back with Spyro before this other creature she seemed to be racing with. She saw the tree in the distance, and tried to go even faster, she was so nervous, what if Spyro managed to survive his great own magic just to die in the hands of an evil creature? While he was sleeping? That could just not happen, Cynder wouldn't allow it to happen.

As Cynder was getting closer, she started to sight another creature by Spyro's side, it was about to touch it with… Something. Good luck for Cynder, she was not too late to stop it. Cynder accelerated and hit the creature with all her strenght, which was enough to knock the other creature in the ground.

-"Ouch! Hey!" - Said loudly a female voice, coming from the floor at Cynder's side.

Cynder quickly went over to this creature and got it against the floor with her claws, then she saw what was the source of this darkness she felt, it was another dragon, about her same age, but something was really weird about this dragon, It's color was totally strange, Cynder had never seen a dragon like that. –"(An orange dragon?)"- it was a female, dark orange dragon… In fact, she seemed harmless, but Cynder could still feel this great darkness radiating from her.

-"What are you doing here?"- Said Cynder trying not to show her surprise.

-"What do you think? I saw a weak dragon and came over to help!"- Replied the orange dragoness.

-"Liar! I can sense darkness in you"- Cynder moved her tail and pressed the blade on it's tip against the orange dragon's neck.

-"Aaargh! Someone help! Help me!"- Cried the dragoness, she was clearly scared, and it seemed like she really couldn't defend herself.

-"Spyro… Spyro! Spyro are you alright?"- Cynder turned her face a little to see Spyro who looked okay, he was still sleeping. Cynder asked herself what could have happened if she didn't arrive when she did.

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><p>Spyro felt a great darkness around, he couldn't really explain it, at all. He couldn't see a thing around. But he could hear a weak voice, getting closer and louder everytime.<p>

-"Spyro… Spyro… Spyro the dragon… The purple dragon…"- Said the deep voice.

-"Where am I? Who are you?"- Said Spyro.

-"You sure would wish this was a normal dream, Spyro the dragon… Soon enough you will regret what you've done to my master. It's just a matter of time now. Spyro the dragon."- Said the voice, in a reallly creepy way.

-"Who are you talking about? Malefor? We still have to stop him! And there is nothing you, whoever you are, can do about it."- Said Spyro, something was really strange for him. –"I haven't done anything to The Dark Master. Yet."- Oh, but he would, after all the damage done, a dragon like Malefor didn't deserve to live.

-"Don't play with me! You purple dragon! We both know what you did to my master, and the time is coming for you to pay for it."- Replied the voice with a deep anger tone.

-"You went totally wrong in that part…"- Spyro didn't really understand, at all.

-"It's just a matter of time now. Spyro the dragon."- The misterious voice dissapeared in the darkness…

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><p>Cynder's voice came into Spyro's mind, it's sound was beautifull –"(Am I still dreaming?)"- Wondered Spyro. Right after what he had listened to, it was great to listen to Cynder's voice, it was like a great light in a world of shadow. Even thought that, her voice had a concern tone.<p>

-"S..R… Sp..Ro…! Spyro are you alright?"- Said Cynder, she seemed to be really worried about him.

Slowly Spyro opened his eyes, the scene in front of him was kind of strange… Cynder was holding a dragon against the floor. Was that an orange dragon? And what was that shiny thing on the other dragon's neck?

-"Cynder? What…?"- Suddenly Spyro noticed what was going on. –"Cynder! Stop it! What are you doing?"- Spyro tried to stand up, but he was still too weak.

-"Help me!"- The other dragon, probably a female because of the voice, seemed to be really scared. –"(I would be too if Cynder was about to stab my neck…)"-

-"You shut up!"- Said Cynder. –"Spyro, are you alright? Did she do anything to you?"-

-"N.. No… Why would she? What was she doing here?"- That was too much for Spyro. Where did that dragon come from?

-"I don't know, but she has darkness inside of her, too much."- Cynder pressed her tail even strongly against the dragon's neck. The orange dragon began to tremble, watching her death probably come.

-"Please don't hurt me! I haven't done anything!"- Said the dragoness.

-"Cynder! Let her go!"- Spyro was sorry he couldn't get up to help the other dragon, but somehow he needed to stop Cynder.

-"You answer me! What were you doing here!"- Shouted Cynder.

-"I just saw your weakened friend here and came over to offer some help! I didn't even notice he was sleeping!"- Replied the dragoness –"I can help him!"-

-"I could really use some help… maybe you can let her try…"- Said Spyro, Cynder listened carefully and made a choice. She took her tail off the other dragon's neck, slowly.

-"How can I be sure you won't try to hurt him…? I don't trust anything with darkness on it anymore."- Argued Cynder.

-"Then why do you trust this friend of yours? Spyro, right?"- Argumented the dragoness , as she stood up –"I can see lots of darkness on him… And also in you."-

-"What do you mean?"- Said Cynder.

-"Not just that, my powers can tell me you had been part of Malefor's army. A real cold-blooded killer. And Spyro... He killed an ape, when he was infected by darkness. And he did nearly hurt you, and other friend. Believe me, I can tell anything about darkness, in anyone."- Commented The dragoness.

-"Now I really don't like you."- Cynder was unstoppable.

-"You see, my powers are most uncommon"- Said the dragoness, walking towards Spyro. –"I can sense darkness, but that is just the beginning. I can tell it's source. I also have well developed psychic powers, weak ones."- The orange dragoness gently touched Spyro's body. Suddenly a pink aura wrapped Spyro, his muscles started to contract. Also, some rocks around the tree started to shake, others started to float in the air. It all stopped in fifteen seconds. There was two secons of silence, and then…

-"Wow… What did you just do? I really feel better!"- Spyro tried again to stand up, with a difference… This time he succeded. Spyro walked a few steps, and then he got really tired, he got laid again.

-"Not so fast brave boy. I'm afraid you still need some crystals to get stronger."- The dragoness looked at Cynder, she was really astonished. –"Did I hurt him? I think you owe me an apologie. Cynder, right?"-

-"You really listen to everything"- Said Cynder, blushing. –"Ok, I'm sorry… Thank you very much for that."- Those words came out really hard from Cynder's mouth. –"But I still don't trust you, there is too much darkness inside of you… And why did all those rocks shake anyway?"-

-"I can't really control my powers, no too much. That is why I can't totally heal your friend. He needs red crystals. And about the darkness, is a strange story. Bad things happen when I'm around…"- Said the dragoness, it seemed that a rush of sorrow had come to her. –"My name is Kate, by the way."-

-"Yeah, I bet they do."- Said Cynder, offensive.

-"Well, thank you Kate, nothing bad seemed to happen."- Said Spyro, really thankfull. –"I'm sure both Cynder and I want to listen to that story."-

-"No, we don't want to."- Said Cynder.

-"Hey, Spyro wants to."- replied Kate.

-"Watch it!"- Said Cynder, nearly shouting.

-"Is okay Cynder, I do"- Said Spyro. –"Try to calm down."

-"You should listen to him, Cynder. You are too stressed."- Kate gave her an advice that seemed to get Cynder uncomfortable.-"Well, when my egg hatched…"- Kate stopped a while, sadness was clearly invading her.-"Sorry, this is a hard story to tell."-

-"Don't worry, we are not in a rush, I can't even walk"- Said Spyro smiling at her. Cynder blushed loudly.

-"Thanks Spyro"- Said Kate. –"Ok, when my egg hatched, both my parents died, also did a witness that was around, poor him… Wel, ever since that I was raised in the forest, by a family of dragonflies. They were really kind to me, but as soon as I arrived, they started to argue, a lot and about everything. I thougth it was me, all the time. It turns out I really was. So as soon as I got the age enough to live by myself, I left."-

-"What do you mean with that? I mean, did you cause the arguments between your family? Because I lived with dragonflies, also, and they are like… Always cool?"- Said Spyro, curious.

-"That is why I said bad things happen when I'm around. Somehow, I can easily awaken the darkness inside everyone. And the fact that every dragon around died when I was born, makes it stranger."- Said Kate, as she trembled a little at her own words. –"Don't worry, I've helped in what I could, I'll leave now."-

-"No! Please stay with us!"- Spyro rushed to say.

-"What? No!"- Cynder quickly answered.

-"Please Cynder, try to understand. Now that we are free again we must get all the help we can to stop The Dark Master once and for all."- Argumented Spyro. He faced Kate. –"Please, stay. For a while, at least."

-"Well, if you insist… *Tee Hee*I think I can stay with you a couple of days."- Said Kate happily.

-"Uuuh… Spyro… About The Dark Master…"- Started Cynder.

-"Hey! That is a story I'd sure like to listen to!"- Said Kate.

-"Shut up! I'm not telling anything to you!"- Said Cynder loudly.

-"Ok… Calm down, we are all friends here."- Spyro tried to fix things up, with no results at all.

-" She is not my friend!"- Said Cynder.

-"Uhm… Sorry. Did I do anything wrong?"- Replied Kate.

-"Hey, girls…"- Spyro tried to say something.

-"What?"- They both said at the same time.

-"Uh… I don't mean to bother, but my legs started hurting… Just a little bit."- Complained Spyro, unable to understand what was the problem with those two.

-"Told you, you still need them to get strong. Hey! I know where to find Red Crystals!"- Said Kate as fast as she could. –"Why don't I tell Cynder where they are and she can go get you some?"-

-"I've already looked for them. (Before you appeared) I couldn't find any, if you know where they are, and you really want to help, why don't YOU go?"- Cynder said that, really upset.

-"Ok, I've got it."- Said Kate with a big smile, as she walked outside of the shadow the tree offered. –"You just wait here."-

-"Spyro can't go anywhere. Dumb"- Said Cynder.

-"Yes, we will wait here."- Said Spyro, politely.

-"Ok, I'll try to be back soon, get better!"- Kate flew off.

-"So, she finally left."- Said Cynder.

-"Hey Cynder, what were you about to say when I mentioned The Dark Master?"- Asked Spyro, it was simply not the moment to talk about her relationship with Kate.

-"Oh, yeah… I… Well…"- Said Cynder, insecure about how to proceed.

-"Please… I had a strange dream. Some creepy voice kept telling me I would pay, for what I've done to Malefor… That makes no sense at all. But it seemed too convinced about it's words. I've had these dreams before, telling me bad things would happen… Even if it was just a bad dream, a normal one. I want to know what you need to say."- Asked Spyro, always serene.

-"Ok… There are some things you really need to know… Things are not like you think they are…"- Started Cynder. It was time for the truth to come out, and Spyro could feel it, strongly…

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><p>AN: That was it, I really hope you like it, please review, also, thanks to the ones that have already reviewed this. Thanks for the advices, support, and... Well, everything, I'm not really good at this.

This chapter is for you, if you find any mistake, please let me know. If you like the story, please let me know. If you think I must stop writing, I won't like it...

Until next chapter.

- Fenrir


	4. Revelations

A/N: Ok, I know this took me a week to post, but remember I warned you all, I don't know how often I will be posting, next one could take half a week, maybe two weeks, maybe more, maybe less. I don't really know.

But this week has been productive, this is the largest chapter I've done by far, and I really hope you enjoy it. Because I worked really hard on it.

Updated 02/10/2011: Holy Shit! I really have to stop typing THAT fast... It is just giving me lots and lots of misspelled words! Well, lucky me, I've got Star Duster to correct me everything... (I didn't mean it as a bad thing... In fact thank you very much!) And help me improve, so that this story actually looks better for everyone. I have corrected the ones in the reviews page and many others I just found, If you find any other I did not spot, please leave a review.

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><p>Chapter 4: Revelations<p>

Kate was happily flying off to the spot she knew, looking for some Red Crystals to make her new friend get better soon, she couldn't believe that Spyro had actually asked her to stay with them, she couldn't help but to be happy with that, but Cynder… She had no problem with her, and she definitely couldn't understand why didn't she like her, what had she done? Kate could actually understand Cynder's point, a little. She had been through too much… Kate had never seen Cynder before, but she had heard stories she didn't really want to remind Cynder about. She had heard about Cynder, the great dragoness who had devastated many lands, commanding a whole army of apes, she had also heard that Cynder was about to get to the lands Kate lived in, after awakening her Dark Master, but just before that, another dragon had stopped her, and no one ever saw her again.

Well, she couldn't really say anything, it was too early for that, but when she heard all those stories she really thought Cynder was… Bigger. And just by feeling the darkness in her, she could notice many things about her. But watching all those things she saw about Cynder, Kate couldn't really blame her for not trusting darkness, Kate could notice Cynder knew darkness better than she did.

Kate was finally arriving after some minutes of flying. She could see the Crystals in the distance, there were many of them, red, blue, green… As soon as Kate landed she started hitting some red Crystals, by instinct she absorbed some of them, but she was still being careful to leave more for Spyro. She wondered if he could need also green ones. After a lot of thought, she decided to take Green Crystals also. The night was coming, so she needed to be a little fast, no problem for her.

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><p>-"Please… I had a strange dream. Some creepy voice kept telling me I would pay, for what I've done to Malefor… That makes no sense at all. But it seemed too convinced about it's words. I've had these dreams before, telling me bad things would happen… Even if it was just a bad dream, a normal one. I want to know what you need to say."- Asked Spyro. Cynder couldn't deny him the truth, not for a second.<p>

-"Ok… There are some things you really need to know… Things are not like you think they are…"- Started Cynder. She didn't really know how to start, that was a topic she needed to take care about. As Spyro was convinced they were just freed from the Crystal, there were some news that… Wouldn't be easy to speak about, she had to explain him about Sparx, Ignitus' death… Malefor's, as well…

-"I'm listening… I really feel like I am missing something."-Said Spyro, concerned. Cynder would have loved to tell him how right he was about that. It didn't really matter, he was about to notice by himself.

-"Well, Spyro. Three years had passed since you got us frozen. Malefor's army found us, but there were also allies, we met a cheetah, called Hunter."- Cynder thought that was good for the beginning.

-"Why can't I recall any of that?"- Asked Spyro.

-"We will get to that…"- Cynder didn't really know how to touch that topic, it wouldn't be easy for Spyro to know… Well, that he had lost his memory, would that be too shocking? It certainly would be for Cynder. –"Now please listen to me carefully, and try not to ask too much… It would be easier for me to tell it all first, you promise you won't ask?"-

-"But… *Thought* Ok Cynder. I promise."- Spyro seemed to be worried, like if he knew already the kind of things he was about to hear.

-"Ok, as I told you, Malefor's new army found us, and they released us from the crystal. They also used a chain, so that we couldn't get far away from each other. That seemed to be no problem for us. We quickly escaped with Hunter, heading to a Cheetah village in Enchanted Forest…" It would take a while for Cynder to tell the whole story, it didn't matter, as Spyro himself said, they were not in a rush. Still, Cynder was concerned about Spyro's dream… He had dreamed those things before… Was there really another source of evil around? Looking for them? Cynder needed Spyro to catch up with the news as soon as he could, in order for her to think about what to do next… But peace seemed to be far away, once again.

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><p>It was about time for Kate to get back, it was even darker. She wondered if they would actually worry about her, but that didn't really matter, she had just known them, she couldn't expect anything special from them until she got to know them better.<p>

Kate finished harvesting the Crystals and started flying to get back, when suddenly, a great idea came to her mind. It would take a while but she didn't think it would bother her new friends, well, friend.

(-"She is not my friend!"- Said Cynder, angry.) These words were stuck in Kate's mind, what had she done anyway? In a way… Kate could really understand Cynder. She would have been worried too if she saw a creature radiating darkness about to touch her weakened friend. But Kate had proved to have no bad intentions… Why was Cynder still treating her that way?

That was not the point by now, it would take a while, but what she was about to do was just so special, a real proof of friendship. She would prove them that she REALLY wanted to stay with them. It was so nice for Kate, to find finally a dragon who wanted her close to him. Kate wouldn't just let that slip.

So she changed course, it would take a while, some more minutes, but she was decided. For the sake of her new friend. Sorry if that bothered Cynder.

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><p>Cynder kept telling the story… For many minutes, it surprised her how soon she had advanced through that much time, skipping some details… Of course, Spyro didn't remember anything, he just listened carefully to Cynder's words, and he seemed to get a little shocked at some parts. But he said nothing, he just listened, as he promised. But there was a part… He couldn't stop himself from talking.<p>

-"And so, we went into the belt of fire, with Ignitus protecting us… Then something happened…"- Cynder stopped for a while, she had just arrived to the hard part.

-"Hey Cynder… What have you known from Ignitus? I… I saw The Chronicler, before waking up, and he told me he had a visit, he talked to Ignitus!"- Said Spyro, Cynder was sad to see Spyro was looking forward to know anything about Ignitus… Would he stand the bad news? Would he become…? That dark version of Spyro, Cynder was so afraid of?

-"S… Sorry Spyro, that is impossible."- Started Cynder, dramatically.

-"No, I'm sure about The Chronicler's words. He has spoken to Ignitus and it has to be after what you are telling me."- Spyro seemed to have his hopes too up… Cynder knew she was about to break his heart, but he needed to know.

-"Spyro… Ignitus is dead… He died getting us through the belt of fire… The heat, it was so intense. Not even Ignitus could stand it. Somehow he managed to get us through, but he couldn't come. He got trapped inside. I'm sorry"- Spyro was just listening… He was about to say something, but just before that, he seemed to notice Cynder's words were sincere. He said nothing, but Cynder could see a small tear was in Spyro's eye… That broke her heart, also… She was afraid that was too much for him.

-"… P… Please continue…"- Said Spyro with a broken voice, Cynder could notice sadness invading him. Of course it was, Ignitus had been like a father for him. In fact, he had been the one to save Spyro's egg in the first place. –"I need to know more, what has happened? And why can't I remember these things… ?Please go on…"-

-"Ok… We continued, and faced many foes in our way through the burnt lands, heading towards Malefor's lair. Once there, he tried to manipulate us, I fell. He got me confused, and he could eventually awaken the darkness remains inside me… I… I attacked you Spyro, but you refused to fight back. Then, you managed to set me free"- Cynder wasn't willing to go to the details of that, somehow it seemed embarrassing. –"Once you did that, the destruction of the world was already too advanced, but we had a shot to defeat Malefor once and for all, so we took it. It was an intense fight, and we couldn't fully defeat him, he was too strong. But The Ancestors came to help us, and they did it, they helped us finish Malefor once and for all. But the world was already destroyed, there were not too much posibilities for us… And then… Then you did something amazing Spyro. I don't really know what you did, but you released lots of magic of some sort, and with that you managed to put the world back together, you saved all of us. Then I found myself here, in this great field, and I found you on the floor, not moving, I thought you died, but then somehow you came back to… To me, Spyro. And I think you know the rest of the story."- Cynder had finally finished.

-"And so? What happened to my memory Cynder? I really can't remember a thing, is frustrating."- Spyro was really concerned, or at least that was the sound of his words. Cynder didn't really know how to explain that.

-"Well Spyro, I've got to say I don't really know either… My guess is that the magic that you had to unleash in order to save the world from destruction was too big. Even for you to stand. That could have affected your body and mind in strange and big ways. You couldn't even stand up, and you don't remember a single thing. Maybe it is just temporary, maybe it will all come back soon."- Cynder totally made her point, that theory had been in her mind for a while.

-"I hope so, this is dissapointing. But I believe you, Cynder, thank you for telling me everything. The truth. Even about Ignitus… I can't believe it…"- Sadness was coming back to Spyro, Cynder needed to change the topic, she didn't like to see Spyro suffering. But the only other thing she wanted to talk about was not much recomfortating.

-"Now, I'm really concerned about this dream you told me about"- Cynder took a look in the direction Kate left, the night was coming. Would Kate really come back? –"(I hope she doesn't) Spyro, as you said, this dreams have come to you before… We… You, I meant you, just saved the world once, it hasn't even been a day, and there is already something threatening us?"-

-"I hope there is not… But this story you just told me, makes everything have some sense… We did save the world and destroyed Malefor. We, remember you did help me, or at least that is what I understood. There could be something… Someone trying to get revenge…"- Said Spyro, thoughtfull. –"Well, let's just not get worried about that now, let's just spend a good night and I'll tell you for sure if I keep having this nightmares. Now where is Kate…?"-

-"Uhm… Spyro… There is something more you need to know…"- Cynder didn't really know how to begin, but it was time. She would not make the same mistakes again. Cynder needed to let out her feelings right away. Other time… May be too late for them… She had been through that, and she wouldn't loose the oportunity to spend a lifetime with Spyro again. It was time, Cynder became quite nervous. –"Spyro, I lo…"-

-"Hey! I'm back!"- Kate's voice came not from far away. -"I got some Crystals for you Spyro!"-

-"Hi! I would go greet you, but… I seem to be unable for now…"- Said Spyro.

-"Hi there… *Blush* (Damn you Kate…)"- Cynder couldn't believe what had just happened. She would have beaten up Kate right in that moment… But she couldn't, not with Spyro there.

-"Hey Spyro, I hope this makes you feel better"- Said Kate as she dropped a lot of Red and Green Crystal shards in front of Spyro. Cynder felt uncomfortable… She felt bad, because she could have been the one to bring Crystals to Spyro, the one to really help out for his recovery, and now a stranger was doing that for her.

-"Thank you very much Kate."- Spyro inmediately started to draw the Cyrstals to his body, collecting strenght from them. After a few seconds he had finished with them all. He did really look better after that. He was the dragon she loved… Cynder couldn't stop herself from thanking Kate, because of making him feel better.

-"Well yes, thank you very much Kate."- Said Cynder in a low tone.

-"You are both always welcome. Wow, I didn't expect to hear that from you Cynder. Thank you for the honor."- Replied Kate happily.

-"You think this is a joke…?"- Cynder couldn't finish complaining, fortunately for Kate, Cynder seemed to be about to explode. Spyro slowly stood up and started walking around in front of everyone's surprise. After half a minute he didn't lay down again, he sighted a cave in a hill not too far away from their current position.

-"Hey. Cynder, Kate. What do you say if we spend the night there? It would be more comfortable than under this tree."- Spyro cutted down some branches, of the lower ones, from the tree as he spoke, and he also got some wood out of the trunk, showing them he was stronger, clearly stronger. –"Come on, we can start a fire with these, I can't fly yet, so you go first and wait for me there, I'll take these wood and that way we can spend a comfortable night there."

-"Agreed."- Was Kate's inmediate answer.

-"Ok, that is a good plan. But I will not let you go alone. I will walk along with you, Spyro."- Proposed Cynder.

-"Ok, then we will all go together! Yay!"- Rushed Kate to answer.

-"Alright then, let's go, we don't want to spend all night out here, I think I can breathe some fire in order to turn this on. Thank you Kate for that."- Said Spyro as he started walking towards the cave. Cynder and Kate started to follow him. Neither Cynder nor Kate spoke a word, so Spyro decided to try to start a conversation. –"Hey Kate, how did you find me… ? If it wasn't because of your help… You know. Now I can go get some food by myself tomorrow, I can't live of Crystals, you know."-

-"Hee hee, yeah I guess. The point now is to spend a great night. Most of it sleeping."- Bad joke, Kate noticed that just too late. -"And I was just walking around, that is what I've done most of my life since I left the dragonflies. I don't usually stay in the same place for too long. Or else it could be bad for someone."-

-"I hope it is the same this time."- Replied Cynder.

-"Well, it will take a while for me to sleep tonight, I'm not sleepy at all."- Said Spyro… Cynder remembered he had just been sleeping before Kate arrived. –"But hey, if you are not sleepy, maybe we can talk. I'd sure like to know Kate better, before I can say anything bad about her *Laughs*"- Spyro said that as a joke, but Cynder definitely got that.

-"Yeah… Let's know Kate better… Hooray…"- Said Cynder sarcastically.

-"Ha ha! Nice one Spyro"- Laughed Kate, she did get that as a joke. –"Ok, we are almost there."-

-"Yeah, let's get in."- Said Spyro walking even faster.

The three dragons got to the cave and started to set the wood and branches in the deepest part of it, which was not too far away from the exit. When it was all ready, Spyro breathed some fire over them to make a small fire. They al got comfortable around the fire and started to talk.

-"Well, who will start."- Asked Kate.

-"Does anyone want to say something?"- Asked Spyro, no one seemed to be in the mood for a simple chat. Cynder was sleepy, she had not rested since the battle against Malefor.

-"Yes!"- Said Kate –"I do have something!"-

-"And do we really need to know?"- Was Cynder's inmediate answer.

-"Spyro does. I made something for you."- Kate showed him a golden necklace, with a Yellow Crystal hanging from it. Kate carefully placed it around Spyro's neck. –"Do you like it?"-

-"It… Uhm… It is great, Kate. Thank you… I… I don't really know what to say…"- Spyro was really surprised. And Cynder couldn't believe her eyes.

-"I made the Crystal, Using my psychic powers, I was able to compress a lot of Green and Red Crystals making that as a result. It has enough energy on it to fully heal you whenever you need it, it has only one use, so save it."- Explained Kate looking at Spyro's eyes. –"The rest was from my father, the dragonflies managed to get it from him after his death. It is very special for me."- Said Kate with a smile. –"And now I give it to you as a gift. It is supposed to protect you from darkness."-

-"Hmpf… That obviously didn't work out for your father, did it?"- Said Cynder.

Kate's reaction was inmediate, and it was also surprising. Kate suddenly turned to face Cynder, with a clear excess of anger reflected in her eyes. But there was one more thing, her eyes, normally of a bright blue color had changed, and now they had a fiery red, a small roar came from Kate's mouth. At the same second Cynder stood up, ready to attack if necessary.

-"Come on! I've faced tougher foes before!"- Yelled Cynder.

-"I don't think so."- Said Kate out of herself. Cynder started to float in the air, and felt lots of pain go through her body. The whole cave started to shake fiercely. Spyro had to take action on that, with Cynder complaining in great pain.

-"Kate stop it!"- Spyro threw himself over to Kate, they both fell in the ground. Spyro held her against the floor and turned her to face him, that was the first time he saw her red eyes. –"What the hell…?"-

The cave stopped shaking, and Kate's eyes slowly came back to normal. Cynder fell loudly on the ground, lifting a small cluod of dust. No one could believe what had just happened, and Kate didn't seem to notice.

-"Cy… Cynder… I…"- Kate couldn't talk, lots of sadness and sorrow came to her with the memory of her dead father. Small tears started to flow upon Kate's face.

-"What has just happened…?"- Spyro was having trouble to assimilate what had just happened. It had been so… Unexpected.

-"M… My Family… My friends…"- Kate couldn't speak properly, she was crying in great sadness.

-"Now I know why they all left you. I'll go to sleep. Try to control yourself, for godness sake!"- Cynder went next to the fire and got laid. But she could still listen to Kate crying, she kind of felt bad for her. That was not a good joke, but her pride wouldn't let Cynder apologize.

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><p>Spyro stood by Kate's side, trying to cheer her up, but he really didn't know what to say. Kate just kept crying, she was back, but it seemed that she didn't remember what she had just done to Cynder. Not even Spyro fully know what had just happened. Was that the kind of darkness Cynder was speaking about when she first met Kate? That seemed really dangerous. Spyro couldn't help but to get closer to Kate, he had just met her but he couldn't let her suffer like that. When all this had passed, he needed to get a talk with Cynder. It was not right to make someone what Cynder had just done to Kate.<p>

-"Hey, are you alright? Kate?"- Said Spyro trying to get closer, but not too much, he wouldn't like to scare his new friend by giving her the wrong thoughts.

-"Y… Yes. Thank you Spyro… I, I think I'll just leave. I'm not welcome in this group anymore."- Answered Kate with tears all over her face.

-"Do as you wish, Kate. But feel free to come back whenever you want. You will always have a friend in me."- Said Spyro.

-"Th… Thank you."- Said Kate walking towards the cave's exit, dramatically slow. –"Good bye, Spyro."-

-"I hope we get to see each other again."- Spyro thought of trying to convince Kate not to leave… But he decided it was better to give her some time alone. Kate slowly left the cave.

As soon as Kate left, Spyro went over to Cynder's side. It was about time to know what was happening.

-"Hey, Cynder. What is the deal with Kate? What you just did was not…"-

-"Yeah, I know. But she finally left now. Won't you get some sleep? Spyro?"- Said Cynder, unwilling to talk about that topic.

-"No, is too soon yet."- Was Spyro's answer.

-"Well, then I'll see you tomorrow, good night Spyro."- Said Cynder, indifferent.

-"Good night, Cynder."- Spyro slowly walked away from her, to the other side of the fire.

Once there, Spyro just stared at the flames for some time, lost in thought. What would Kate do alone out there? Did she have anywhere to sleep warm? Why did things have to go like that? And most of all, how was Kate involved with darkness? Spyro saw some powers from her he had never seen before. But he could also notice she was not controlling them, they were controlling her, in a way Spyro had never seen before either.

After about half an hour, Spyro heard some footsteps outside. He got his hopes up, was Kate coming back? Spyro went, curious outside, but his sight both scared him and dissapointed him. He saw a creature, clearly a dark one, that was carrying a big axe. It walked in two feet and seemed to be looking for something. It suddenly moved it's pointed ears towards Spyro's position and started sniffing the air. All of the creature's muscles contracted and then it saw Sypro with it's grubblin-like face, he was just bigger.

-"They are here!"- Shouted the creature. And then it charged against Spyro, who managed to dodge the creature's attack.

-"Cynder! Come here! Quickly!"- Spyro kept fighting the creature for a while, well, fighting is not the word, he just kept dodging attacks from it. When Cynder came out, a little scared by Spyro's scream, Spyro rushed to shoot a ray of electricity towards the creature, paralyzing it. –"Come on, help me out! I'm almost out of magic!"-

-"Consider it done."- Cynder used her shadow powers to hide underground and attack the creature from there. The creature flew in the air for a while and then it fell on the floor, where both Spyro and Cynder were waiting for it, and started hitting it, Cynder tried to kill it with the blade on her tail, but Spyro stopped her.

-"Wait, Cynder. He called someone before attacking."- Said Spyro worried.

-"So What?"- Cynder stabbed the creature's neck really fast. The creature let out a groan of pain, drowned in the blood sprouting from it's neck. It died quickly after that.

-"Great, where will we get some information from now Cynder?"- Asked Spyro looking at the creature's death body, which shortly after that started shining and it transformed into a bunch of Crystals.

-"You can get those."- Said Cynder. Spyro absorbed all of the Crystals.

-"Hey! Are you alright?"- Said a familiar voice in the distance.

-"Kate? Kate! Where are you?"- Asked Spyro, looking at all directions. Kate had been flying, so she landed next to Spyro and Cynder. -"Is good to see you again, Kate."-

-"Sorry Cynder, I had to come back. I sensed a lot of darkness coming to your position. I had to see if you were alright"- Said Kate looking worried.

-"We are fine. Thanks for coming back."- Said Spyro, glad to see her again.

-"Hey! The dragons are there! Let's go!"- yelled another voice, quite far away, Spyro quickly faced the direction it came from.

In the horizon, Spyro could see a shiny light, and then, kind of slowly, lots of shadows apperaed, it looked like an entire army. They were all creatures like the one Cynder had just killed. And they were approaching their location.

-"Well, it turns out there IS something dark looking for us, Spyro…"- Said Cynder, preparing herself for battle.

-"Kate, please stay with us, we can all protect each other."- Said Spyro, also getting ready for the wave of monsters. –"Looks like we are not sleeping tonight. Good luck I was not sleepy."- Spyro just looked at his friends, he wouldn't let anything happen to them. And then, he saw all those monsters coming to them, they could be more than 50 easily…

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><p>AN: How did you like chapter four? Please let me know in a review. Also let me know if there is anything I can work on to improve.

Please... PLEASE, give me some more reviews! (I don't live of them, but I really like them).

See you all next chapter, I'll work hard not to disappoint anyone.

- Fenrir

Update 02/10/2011: Please, do tell me if you find any other mistake. Bye for now!

Update 03/10/2011: Ok, I DID find some more mistakes, corrections have been made.


	5. Dragons

A/N: Well, here is chapter five, finally.

I'm really sorry this took me SO long to update, I've been really busy with... Some things, and my mind hasn't really been focused on writing because of many situations. Please forgive me... I'm so sorry... Please don't kill me...

Hey! I did warn you!

But... I still don't like to make people wait...

Sorry! Forgive me! Perdonenme! (That was Spanish) Lo siento! (Yeah, that one too). Please! I beg you... Don't be mad at me... PLEASE EXCUSE MEEE!

... Time for the chapter, I really don't want to bore you anymore.

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><p>Chapter 5: Dragons<p>

Spyro, Cynder and Kate kept watching the monsters come close to them, feeling the tension of battle arrive to their bodies with every step they watched their foes give. Waiting for the beginning of the battle to come to them as they watched the shiny light from the torches the monsters were carrying get closer.

-"This is great… I did need some sleep tonight."- Said Cynder with a really stressed voice.

-"Is that your problem, Cynder? I wouldn't be able to defend myself from a beehive, and now I'm supposed to fight these monsters?"- Replied Kate, afraid of their fate.

-"That is not the idea you gave us in the cave."- Said Spyro, looking at the dark creatures come closer, it would take them just a few more seconds to arrive.

-"I don't know what you are talking about! I didn't do anything, I just left!"- Shouted Kate, starting to panic.

-"Yeah, sure you don't…"- Spyro had just a few seconds to decide what move to make next, he was able to speak just before the monsters charged against them. –"Ok, we will do this, Kate, step back, me and Cynder will cover you. If you can offer us any kind of help, I would really appreciate it."-

-"Do I have to?"- Asked Cynder.

-"Ok, ok… Watch out!"- Yelled Kate, Spyro was able to step aside right before getting his body divided by a huge falling axe.

Then Cynder breathed some dark fire upon another monster, Spyro was able to hit another monster's body and make it fall back, Cynder stabbed a monster's stomach, while she was also digging another monster's face with her sharp claws. All this in just five simple seconds, and monsters kept coming. The three dragons got quickly surrounded, so Spyro moved to cover Kate's left and Cynder did the same to cover her right. Spyro tried to give some instructions to Kate, but when he was about to speak he received a punch in his face, he reacted by sending a weak earth missile to the monster, but his magic was not fully restored yet, so he could just make it fall back for a moment before he was able to charge again. In the meantime, Cynder had used her fear powers to make some monsters clear a small gap, but soon enogh another monster tried to hit her ribs, Cynder could dodge the hit, but it accidentally landed on Kate's side. Who fell on the floor complaining. None of the dragons had defeated not even one of the monsters who kept coming to attack.

Kate stood up trying to get covered between Spyro and Cynder, who kept fighting fiercely, Cynder a little more than Spyro, but that had a really simple explanation. Kate was able to get to a safe spot again, and once there she used her powers to create a weak defense barrier. A pink semicircle covered the three dragons, giving them a few rest seconds.

-"Kate, if we *Sigh* manage to cover you up better, can you help us out a little with this powers of yours?"- Asked Spyro, watching the enemy's desperate tries to break the psychic barrier

-"I can try."- Said Kate, scared.

-"If you are not going to help, just try not to bother, you are taking my fighting space away. Thanks."- Said Cynder kind of angry.

-"Cynder!"- Spyro was now really upset with Cynder's attitude, but he couldn't say anything else, the monsters had just broken the barrier.

Spyro quickly threw some ice shards in many directions to slow down the enemy. But that didn't help much, while some foes became slow, the ones in the back were able to advance and get to the dragons. The monsters threw some torches at them, and they didn't notice their failure. Spyro was able to control that fire, already created, with really low amounts of magic. He got all the fire out of the torches and started to burn the nearest enemies with it. While the foes were trying to extinguish the flames, Cynder got to stab some necks, she seemed to be enjoying that kind of massacre. The dragons were finally able to kill some of the monsters, with some fire and a tail blade. About six enemies fell on the floor, dead. Cynder absorbed someof the Crystals that came out from the bodies, but she made a slight signal to Spyro to get the rest, most of the Crystals. Spyro drew energy from those and felt immediately refreshed, he made a quick turn and kept attacking the oncoming enemies, with renewed strenght. Spryo could keep freezing more enemies, with the same result, the ones in the back came closer.

Kate quickly got to a safe spot between Spyro and Cynder, once there she got really nervous. Spyro and Cynder kept attacking at all directions to the enemies all around them, when some of them managed to get close, either Spyro or Cynder turned and made them step back. Kate's mind seemed to be all white, she couldn't do anything or say anything, she just kept watching the battle and trying to protect herself. Accidentally, while she was turning around, Cynder made a small cut in Kate's leg with her tail. Kate suddenly came back because of the pain, she was finally able to react in the apocalypse of battle.

Kate turned back, in a way so that each one of the dragons were covering one side. Kate started to use her psychic powers against the enemy, Spyro could see some of the enemies shining with a pink aura and he got happy to see Kate was able to help out, but he couldn't really focus on those kind of feelings, he had to focus in battle. Some enemies were flying upon the air, with a pink aura surrounding their bodies. While Spyro was attacking with his claws, since he didn't want to waste magic. As soon as a group of four or more enemies got together enough, Spyro breathed some fire against them. But while those were running away, other ones charged from the other side.

* * *

><p>Cynder watched the shining foes, too. She could notice Kate was helping, or at least she was trying. Deep inside of her, Cynder felt happy about that for a moment, but that feeling got lost as soon as she felt a great punch from a monster, right in her ribs, taking her breath away. While she was on the floor, she saw death come upon her as an enemy balanced it's axe against her. She was not afraid at all, but she couldn't die without Spyro knowing… The thought of Spyro gave her the strenght she needed. With all her remaining force, she managed to roll to a side and get up. She used her Syren Scream against the enemy, who fell down inmediately. Cynder stabbed it's belly and went up all the way until the throat. She stopped a while to watch her enemie's death, carefully. She seemed to like looking at his dying eyes, how he groaned in agony, weaker everytime… Something took her out of her thoughts, she could feel another hit from the enemies, this time in her back left leg. She fell on the ground and couldn't stop herself from complainig in great pain. Luckily for her, the enemy didn't seem to notice it had just hit her, so she could wait a few seconds until the foe she just killed vanished, leaving only Crystals behind of what had been his being.<p>

Cynder absorbed the Crystals and stood up right away, she could see the enemies were also hitting Spyro, too much. The battle didn't seem to go well at all, Spyro was looking weakened already, and she didn't feel good either. Cynder didn't even bother to turn around to watch Kate's fate, she didn't care, she could die right there, as long as Cynder had Spyro by her side…

The enemies got closer, the three dragons seemed to be unable to contain any more hits. The circle of foes closed around them even more. Spyro was fighting with all of his will, but that didn't seem to be enough, Cynder kept trying to keep the enemies away but the she noticed she was also running out of magic powers. They would not be able to win the fight… Cynder was dissapointed, how comes just the two of them could stop The Dark Master and we cannot beat this ones? And now, three dragons could not hold these foes?

Of course, Spyro was weakened, Cynder had not rested in lots of time and Kate seemed to be in her first fight ever. Cynder could see their end coming soon as the enemies got even closer, there was no time. She was facing the end once more in the same day. Cynder closed her eyes and gave up, finally, she would rest. Without her loved dragon knowing the true feelings living inside of her.

-"Aaaaouch! Aaaah…!"- Kate's voice was complaining in great pain, what had happened to her? Cynder didn't really care. For her, in a way Kate had been the cause of everything. It would be good for her if Kate just died once and for all. Cynder felt another hit on her ribs, this time, she could feel some of them breaking. The impact forced her to get fall on the floor. She opened her eyes and saw blood coming out of her right side… Cynder could feel her vital energy go away. After her brave fight, she had been finally defeated like never before. Just once… But after defeating her, Spyro saved her life, it was different this time.

-"Cynder get down! NOW!"- Spyro's voice came from far away for her but it was frightened about something, did he get hit? Hurt badly? Cynder was already on the ground when she got that order. She was just waiting for her death to come, so that she wouldn't have to hear Spyro's pain anymore, she would not stand it… But what happened next was unexpected… Cynder just felt she flew upon the ground.

* * *

><p>Spyro kept dodging and attacking with his claws now that his magic powers were all gone. He couldn't see any way they could win the battle, but… Would this enemies kill them or would they take them somewhere else? Those were two options, but he was certainly not willing to find out, so he kept fighting fiercely against more enemies with every second. They were coming from everywhere, luckily he had Cynder and Kate to cover two of his sides. Right before getting a painful punch on his back, Spyro thought about Kate, how was she doing back there? A simple sound gave him the answer…<p>

-"Aaaaouch! Aaaah…!"- Shouted Kate in great pain. Spyro couldn't help but to look back at her and watch the scene, terrified. Spyro had failed to protect his friends.

Spyro watched shocked a huge knife was nailed deep into Kate's side, it was bleeding a lot. Spyro felt punches from his enemies in all his body but he didn't care. He felt the pain, but it didn't hurt him as much as watching Kate's eyes while she was loosing her life force. Loosing her breath and moaning in pain. Spyro felt guilty… But then something happened. Kate suddenly raised her head with a quick move and faced Spyro, like blaming him for what had just happened there was a slight anger look in her deep and clear blue eyes. Then, they flashed red for a single second.

-"(Oh… Damn…)"- Was Spyro's only thought before he felt the ground starting to shake weakly under his feet, all of the enemies felt it also and stopped attacking for a second. Spyro saw a big pink aura was starting to surround Kate's body as she stood up and started hovering in the air. The knife in her right side suddenly exploded into millions of little particles levaing the open wound. Kate's eyes turned all red and the aura started to expand at all directions.

-"(This can't be good…) Cynder get down! NOW!"- Was the only thing Spyro could say, he turned left to see Cynder was already on the ground. He got down as soon as he could and then, he felt a huge amount of power hitting his body.

The pink aura expanded really fast, making a sound like a powerful explosion that engulfed the whole place, it pushed everything outside. Just as Spyro thought, by getting down the power's impact was not too big. Still, it pushed him like ten meters away from where he had been. Spyro landed painfully on the ground and lost even more strenght, he felt pain in all his body at the same time. As he raised his sight, he could see the monsters flew even further away, some of them vanished in the air, Spyro assumed that they just died. Some others landed miles away. The tree where they had been in the afternoon fell down and got destroyed, it cracked like a simple and tiny branch and burned in the air. Some pieces of wood flew and killed even more enemies while they were still airbourne. Spyro could hear Cynder landing just a few meters away from where he was laying. Something went wrong, she landed with her neck and fell loudly on the ground, unconscious.

Spyro could not move, he turned his head to face Kate's position. Kate was starting to fall, her eyes slowly came back to normal, and she fell on the ground softly. Spyro could notice a small puddle of blood formed on the ground, and she passed out right after that.

Spyro slowly stood up. The one that had been a huge flowered field was now all burnt, there was not even one Crystal anywhere. And some of the enemies were starting to get up again. Spyro was really weak, he knew he couldn't face those enemies any longer. Not to add Spyro heard a great thunder not too far away. It started to rain.

Spyro saw that the strongest enemies stood up again and started to walk towards him. At the same time, more enemies began to come out fron the ground, healthy and ready to battle him. There was about twenty foes in total. He was determined to take his last stand. He had nothing left, Cynder could have easily died when she landed on her neck, and Kate was probably dead also, she had lost too much blood. But Spyro would not die without killing some of them first… Getting a small revenge for all the things creatures like those had done to him all his life.

Spyro received the first enemie and punched his belly quickly, while this moster was trying to catch it's breath again, he nailed his claws on the creature's eyes, which started to bleed instantly. Spyro quickly aimed his claws against it's neck and made a quick cut on the life vein. He fell on the floor but before he could do anything else he was surprised by other two enemies who hitted both his sides with a fast move. Spyro lost his breath also, but he did not surrender to that, without being able to breathe yet he punched the one on his left, while also hitting the other one with his tail… Before he was even able to notice it, he had seven enemies around him. He started to beat them one by one, but more of the kept coming to him. He started to feel pain, his body was getting too much damage with all those enemies, they were hitting him from every side.

Spyro fell down on the ground, defeated, but still awake. This enemies had been too strong, he had never faced anything like that battle before. He got prepared for death to come, even thought he was already on the ground, they continued to attck him again and again. That answered Spyro's question: Those monsters were there to kill them. He felt all his strenght get away with every breath, his sight started to blur out, he was about to pass out. But then…

He felt a great cold go through his body, and saw some ice shards hit his enemies. A great, light blue dragon landed in front of him, Spyro could not see his face, but he knew who he was, as soon as he spoke.

-"Is Spyro! He is here! Come on, help us out!"- Shouted a familiar voice, Spyro could hear wings flapping, powers being shoot, enemies falling… But that voice… It was Cyril, the guardian of the ice element, who had come on time to rescue him, but what about the others?

-"Hey, Cynder is here! She has pulse, she is just unconscious. And… Who is this? Oh my… This looks bad."- Spyro was relieved to her that, also, he was happy to her Volteer's voice, they had all come. He also assumed that he was talking about Kate.

-"I don't know if she will make it…"- Said Terrador in the distance.

Who wouldn't make it? Cynder? Kate? All of Spyro's relief just passed. He would not forgive himself if anything happened to them. Spyro heard no longer the enemies. All the dragons had come to the rescue, but how did they know…? Well, it was no time for that, he saw the light blue figure come towards him. He saw also a shiny bright light by it's side.

-"Spyro! Brother! Are…? Are you alright?"- Sparx's voice shouted, really worried.

-"Sp… S… Help… Cyn… Kat…"- Spyro was too weak to speak, but he tried with all of his will.

-"Don't you worry Sparx, he will be fine. Guardians! We must take these dragons to Warfang! And let's do it fast!"- Said Cyril.

-"How Can I just don't worry? Are you looking at them…?"- Those were the last words Spyro could heat before all lights faded, and then he fainted as Cyril was grabbing him and taking of to this "Warfang", yeah, he had heard that name before, when he heard all his story as a tale from Cynder's mouth…

* * *

><p>.<p>

* * *

><p>-"Hey there Spyro… Missed me?"- Sad the same voice Spyro heard in his last dream. With the difference that this time he knew, everything.<p>

-"Who are you?"- Yelled Spyro at the darkness around him.

-"The time will come for you to meet me, purple dragon… The same day you will face death once and for all."- Answered the voice in the distance.

-"Malefor is gone, and we will finish you as well. (Why am I threatening him…? I don't even know, I may be death just now.)"- But Spyro knew he was not death… He had been before.

-"That is if you manage to come to me… Before I bring my master back. Spyro the dragon, your minutes are counted… And I know, you will come to me, sooner or later…"- Spyro heard the news shocked, wasn't Malefor death? All that things they had done, without him remembering a thing… Had that all been for nothing?

-"Surprised young dragon? Hm… I'll have some more surprises for you…"- Said the voice, even more threatening.

-"I am not afraid of you… And don't you dare to damage anyone, because now you can be sure I'll serach out for you and destroy you…"- Replied Spyro, defiant.

-" It is not me, who you should be afraid of, Spyro the dragon… You must be afraid of yourself, your feelings and emotions. I've seen the will destroy you soon enough… With a little help from me, and your friends…"- Said the mysterious vioce.

-"Don't you dare…"- Growled Spyro.

-"Scary enough?... I'll see you soon."- Said the voice before dissapearing in the darkness.

All the darkness around surrounded Spyro and left him speechless… He couldn't even move… And there he stayed for a while, it seemed like hours… He couldn't see anything around, it was all quiet and dark. But even thought that, he couldn't feel any fear in his heart, just the wish to know what had happened to his friends, out there. He was just dreaming, yes. But it was all clear to him, someone was communicating with him, using his dark powers to visit him in his dreams. And probably he had been the one to send that army after them… And he wanted to bring back Malefor, but… Could he? Was that really possible once more?

-"You should not be afraid of me, Spyro the dragon… Fear yourself…"- Were the last words Spyro listened to, before a great light invaded him, and a sweet, yet worried voice came from far away… The light blinded him for a few seconds…

-"Wake up now! Spyro!"- Said Cynder's voice in the distance.

* * *

><p>.<p>

* * *

><p>-"Spyro, Spyro wake up!"- Said Cynder as she moved Spyro's body weakly, but she still caused him to roll a little on the small straw nest where he was.<p>

-"Uh… What the..?"- Spyro was still sleepy, but Cynder needed him to be aware of what was happening.

-"Spyro! Your legs…"- Said Cynder, but she thought she made her point, something was weird with his legs. Spyro looke down on them and stood up with a quick jump, scared.

Spyro saw both of his front legs were black, and some dark smoke was coming out from them, he started to shake them at all directions, as if he was trying to put down flames. Both Cynder and him could notice that Spyro's scales were turning black in all his body. Spyro started to panic.

-"Where am I? What is this? Aaargh…"- Said Spyro desperate.

-"Calm down! Please! You are safe Spyro! You are not helping."- Said Cynder as calm as she could given the situation.

-"Not this again! Please stay away!"- Replied Spyro, he was suddenly not sleepy at all.

-"Spyro…"- Continued Cynder in a quiet, comforting voice. –"Please stop it. Try to calm down now, come on, take a deep breath."

Spyro did it and he did seem to get better, his scales started to come back to normal from the upper part of his body to his feet. And it all dissapeared after a few seconds.

-"Th… Thank you Cynder."- Said Spyro relaxing. –"Where are we?"- Spyro looked around. He was standing on some kind of nest. In the corner of a big, white room which had one stone arch as an opening, Cynder supposed he assumed that was the entrance. There were many more nests around but none of those were occupied. There were also some torches to light the place at night, it also gave the room a comfortable warmth at cold nights.

-"That is quite a long story. But you must be feeling better now, don't you? Hey, before I can explain everything, here are some friends who wanted to greet you. And congratulate you, if possible."- Answered Cynder with a big smile in her face.

-"Who are you talki…?"- Spyro could not finish.

-"Come on! He is awake now!"- Called Cynder.

Spyro saw faced the wall and started to recognize some of the figures outside, as they all got into the room, he could see some figures he seemed to get really happy to see once more. Terrador, Cyril, Volteer, Sparx… They all got around him, with Cynder in the middle of all of them.

-"Hey Spyro, nice to see you again."- Said Hunter while he extended a paw towards Spyro as a greeting. He seemed to get a little nervous.

-"Get away from me!"- Said Spyro, jumping back and growling at him. Hunter stood back.

-"Wait… (Of course! He doesn't remember!) No, Spyro! This is the Cheetah we spoke about! He is our friend!"- Rushed Cynder to say, Spyro gave Hunter a look of distrust, but he did drop his guard.

-"Do they know, Cynder? About my problem… About Ignitus…?"- Asked Spyro

-"Of course we know… She had plenty of time to explain us everything."- Answered Terrador.

-"Yeah! We know everything bro! Well done!"- Said Sparx getting close to him, with a smile. –"Sorry about Ignitus… But you are back! And you saved us! YOU – ARE – AMAZING!- He shouted.

-"Thank you Sparx… I can't believe you are all here… Thanks for the rescue. And sorry… Hunter, just give me some time."- Apologized Spyro.

-"Your memory loss is certainly unfortunate, my friend. But you can be sure we will give you all the time you need." – Was Hunter's reply.

-"Hey, we are here also!"- Said Volteer, looking at Cyril. –"We must congratulate you, what you have achieved at your age is magnificent…"

-"Guys, please let's not speak about my age anymore. This fight against evil has taken all my childhood away… And it still continues, Cynder, I dreamt of that voice again."- Said Spyro sadly.

-"Yeah, we also heard about these dreams of yours, and we've got you some news about the topic. But those have to wait until you get better, you are safe here."- Said Cyril

-"That is right Spyro, let's not worry about that now…"- Said Cynder.

-"Ok…"- Spyro looked at everyone for a moment, then he seemed to notice someone was missing. Cynder got a bit nervous, she knew what he was about to ask. –"Hey… Where is Kate?"-

-"Uhm… Kate had…"- Started Cyril

-"An accident, don't worry, she is ok from the fight… But…"- Said Cynder, insecure.

-"What happened?"- Said Spyro, worried.

-"Well uh… Kate and I got up three days after the fight, we had taken care of you ever since then, she was fully recovered…"- Said Cynder ashamed.

-"You both took care of me?"- Said Spyro starting to blush a little, but that was gone in no time at all. –"Wait… You HAD been taking care of me? She WAS fully recovered? Ever since then? How long did it take for me to wake up?"-

-"Two weeks since the attack."- Said Terrador before Cynder could say anything. –"Kate had an unfortunate accident… Right Cynder?"-

-" Two weeks? Holy…! And why did Terrador look at you like that Cynder? What sort of accident did Kate have? Is she ok?" – Too many questions from Spyro, but Cynder had to say it, or else the guilt would strangle her.

-"Well… I… I may have accidentally… How to say it…? I may have accidentally broken one of her legs during an argument…"- Said Cynder even more ashamed than before.

-"An argument or an abuse, Cynder?"- Asked Cyril.

-"YOU DID WHAT?"- Screamed Spyro, surprised. He looked at Cynder like if he couldn't believe her words. For a few seconds, Spyro's feet started grow black againg, but he managed to control that faster than before. –"Where is she?"- No answers around –"WHERE IS SHE? I need to see her!"-

-"She is in another room, the recovery room. Just go outside and follow the signs. She could really use a visit from you. She really wanted to see when you got up."- Informed Volteer.

-"Thanks!"- Said Spyro as he faced the arch to get outside. He was really decided to go.

-"But Spyro! You just got up! You can't just…!"- Cyder could not finish speaking, the bombs came at her.

-"Shut up Cynder!"- Shouted Spyro at her as he took off and flew outside as quick as he could. Everyone in the room caught their breath for a few seconds. Cynder was just standing there, she suddenly felt like crying, did she really bother the dragon she loved that much? Did it really bother him that much that she hurt a stranger? Cynder knew she did no right… But to hear Spyro treat her like that made her heart ache… She looked down at the floor as some small tears appeared at her eyes.

-"We… We'd better give you some time alone, Cynder…"- Said Terrador, encouraging everybody to get out.

-"Yes… We'll see you later."- Commented Cyril. –"You'd better think twice next time, you are really aggressive."-

Everyone left the room, except from a small light in the air. Which flew at her in a really slow pace. Sparx went over to her.

-"Cynder… I just wanted to thank you again, for looking after my brother. But… Try to control yourself, what happened that day was not right… You know I always thought you are still evil? Well you've done so much for us… And I wanted to apologize again. You should do the same with Kate."- Said Sparx as he started to fly away.

-"He… He doesn't care about me… Sparx, Spyro doesn't…"- Cried Cynder

-"What are you talking about? He has always been by your side! But now he has his reasons to be angry, we all have… But that purple dragon… I've seen him blind for you so many times!"- Argued Sparx, trying to cheer her up.

-"Thanks Sparx, but not anymore… Not with Kate around… Please, allow me to have some time alone…"- Said Cynder.

-"Ok, get better."- Said Sparx as he left.

Cynder was finally left alone, so that she could cry alone… She had screwed things up with Spyro… How was she supposed to confess her feelings now? Would Spyro ever forgive her? She just couldn't control her anger that day… And Kate had been the unfortunate victim. She felt like hurling herself at the Belt of Fire… Like just dissapering so that she couldn't cause any more pain to beings around her… Why did she have to hurt everyone close to her? … Those last words she heard from Spyro hurted her in the depths of her heart, making her just want to cry, because she could not deny for a second what she had done.

* * *

><p>.<p>

* * *

><p>Spyro found himself flying faster than he thought he could, he was just awakened after all… He kept looking at signs with arrows on them, pointing at lots of directions, looking for just two key words "Recovery Room". Spyro was both concerned and angry… How could Cynder ever do that! She knew Spyro cared a lot about Kate!... Yes, he had noticed she didn't like her… But that was no reason for… That! All Spyro wanted was to see Kate as soon as he could.<p>

Spyro finally reached the entrance to the Recovery Room, another stone arch in a white wall. Spyro took a small look inside, it was another white room with torches, this ones were lit even thought it was mid day. He saw a small nest with an orange dragon resting on it, he went over there walking, as silently as he could, Kate could be still sleeping, but when he was a few metres away from her, she rolled to face him. Kate gave him a great smile and a happy look with her clear, blue eyes.

-"You are awake… Thanks for coming."- Said Kate, her voice sounded really tired.

-"Am I bothering you? Because maybe I can come back…"-

-"Never, Spyro. Please stay here, I really needed some company. To be honest, until I woke up I hadn't met anyone here before, so… Oh, yes and Cynder really doesn't like me…"- Interrupted Kate.

-"Uh… Yes, I… Wanted to apologize…"- Spyro stared at Kate's front right leg, it was certainly broken. But it looked somehow healed, he wondered when did Cynder hurt her… -"Please excuse Cynder, she can really be a stubborn sometimes, but that doesn't mean she can just…"-

-"Please, Spyro. Don't be mean with her, I can't blame her for what happened. It was not her, who attacked me. Remember what I told both of you that day?"- Said Kate really comprehensive.

-"I don't get it, how can you say that? Look what she has done to you!"- Exclaimed Spyro.

-"Remember what I said, Spyro. I easily reawaken the darkness inside beings around me… And I cannot control it. Cynder has lots of darkness inside of her, and so do you. But somehow you are not getting affected by this… Curse of mine. The one who attacked me was not Cynder… Was all of her darkness exploding, because of me. But being with you is so nice… I don't know how you manage to control your darkness like that."- Explained Kate, with a big smile and blushing a little.

-"Well… (Now, this is awkward.) Maybe, is just me… I don't mean to brag but I am a really good dragon."- Spyro noticed he may be giving her… Another idea. –"But that doesn't mean I can't explode too. You saw the darkness in me, you know I tried to hurt Cynder and Sparx. The darkness in me has a weird manifestation. And how about the others? They are not being mean to you, are they?"

-"No, not yet. But give them a few weeks more and I'll just be another stubborn here, it can't be helped, is the way I influence beings…"- Whispered Kate.

-"Yeah… I gues. But I… When my darkness comes out I cannot be helped either."- Proceeded to coment Spyro.

-"Indeed. But in normal conditions your darkness doesn't flourish by itself. I've never met anyone like that before. And you don't worry about me, I can walk with just a little pain."- Kate stood up, a little clumsy and walked limping towards Spyro, getting close to him and letting out a small moan of pain. -"There are more important things now… Is about darkness, the guardians need you to catch up with the news from this two weeks. And I will be more helpful after the training.

-"Training? What are you talking about?"- Spyro looked into her deep, blue eyes and he could see an unpleasant surprise coming.

-"The guardians will tell you more, now I need to rest a while. Why don't you come back later? I really enjoy chatting with you, Spyro"- Said Kate getting back to her nest and getting comfortably laid. –"All I can say is that in a few days, while you and Cynder will be outside, Cyril offered me to train me for battle, so I can be able to help you out next time."-

-"What? No! That can't happen!"- Said Spyro as gently as he could, he had lots of surprises that day, not precisely comfortable ones. –"Kate, please understand me, I couldn't protect you last time… I fell I failed. Please, understand that I want you out of this, for your own safety…"-

-"No, Spyro. I've made my choice, I want to stay with you, you are the first dragon I could actually spend great moments with… Sorry, I didn't mean that *Blushes* but I really want to stay with you and Cynder, and I have to be useful for that. The only way I can battle next time is to stay here, training."- Cynder was totally convinced. But Spyro couldn't stop himself from trying to make her change her mind. –"I want to do this. Please allow me to."-

-"I Don… I'll… I'll think about it. I don't want you to get hurt because of us… I'd better go speak to the others, so that I can know what is going on here. You get some rest, I'll make sure to visit later."- Said Spyro as he started to walk outside, as silently as he entered.

-"Thanks for the company. I'll see you later."- Kate closed her eyes after speaking. Spyro contemplated her for a few seconds, and he left. Walking through a stone corridor, he wondered where everyone was, he didn't really pay attention to anything while coming his way there. He sighted Cynder, walking slowly on a corridor parallel to where he was, she was crying. Spyro went over to her.

-"Hey there, Cynder"- Said Spyro kind of quiet.

-"S…Spyro… Spyro I'm…"- Cynder started.

-"There is no need for explanations now… Do you know where everyone is? I need to see the guardians right now."- Spyro tried to cheer Cynder up, but what she had done to Kate was still in his mind. He couldn't help but to seem distant from her.

-"They went to the meeting room. Let me take you there… Could I?"- Cynder was really sorry, Spyro could see that, but he could not just forgive her that easy.

-"Ok… You… You want to talk about anything?"- Asked Spyro as he started to follow Cynder through a lot of corridors, Cynder couldn't even look at him.

-"No… Not now, you have many things to know yet, this two weeks many things have happened, you need to be ready to leave in three days from now."- Informed Cynder.

-"What for? Well, good for me, I'm feeling great, like if I had rested…. Well, two weeks."- Spyro was really trying… But he couldn't….´

-"We are here."- Said Cynder as Sparx came out form a room above.

-"Come on you dragons! The meeting is about to start! Don't be lazy! You will all rest when you die! *Fake evil laugh*"- Yelled Sparx.

-"Come on, they are expecting us."- Said Spyro, encouraging Cynder to enter the room with him.

Both the dragons entered, Spyro was about to get the news from those two last weeks…

* * *

><p>.<p>

* * *

><p>In a wide, circular and dark room, theres is someone speaking, his voice is exactly the same Spyro can hear in his nightmares, there is a tone of great evil in each and every word coming out from him. This is a black room, with some strange paintings on it, there is a great round table right in the middle, where some books and dark artifacts are resting and radiating darkness.<p>

-"They are almost there… They are coming, my dear Shadow. Are you aware of our plan?"- Whispered the voice.

-"Yes, my master… Do I kill them?"- Said a second voice, it's sound was from a young being, but it still was dark and quiet as a whisper.

-"I highly doubt you can do it, Shadow… But if the time comes, I may want you to try…"- Laughed the voice from Spyro's dreams.

-"Yes, my master… Malefor's return is soon to come, then this will all be yours."- Said the young voice. –"Are you sure it is all going according to the plan?"-

-"Yes my aprentice. I've got my eye on those dragons. The Orange dragoness has served her purpose well, and I've got great plans ahead…"- He answered in a whisper.

-"Then I'll wait for them, you must tell me when the day has come, my master."- Said the young voice.

-"Soon, all they've fought for will be lost…"- The dark voice said, kind of distant from reality. –"Is just a matter of time now, Spyro the Dragon. You'll come to me, and never get back…"-

…

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><p>AN: I hope you enjoyed it, I apologize again for having this BIG delay in updating.

I also have to say, I have made a blog, here I hope I can have you all updated about everything, make sure to check it out, yes, it has no entries yet, I'm going to make one as an introduction. Here I'll post everything about my story ideas and new chapters, so if you like this story you may want to check it. In my profile, my blog has been conveniently set as my home page, if you want to be updated more often, check it twice or three times a week, you choose which days.

I'm going on a travel... So It may take a while for the next update to come, please be patient, I'm not quitting until I finish with this story at least. (I'm not saying I will quit, just that I wouldn't do it and leave this unfinished.) I'll try to keep you all updated via the blog. Make sure to check it next week.

I'm Out.

- Fenrir

PS: I'm so sorry again!


	6. Meeting

A/N: Hey there! Fenrir is proud to present the sixth Chapter!

I'm kind of tired of saying I'm sorry for the delay, if you want more details, read the blog. I'm also tired to say I warned you, but I did.

You'll probably want to read the chapter now, so I'm leaving, enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 6: Meeting<p>

-"So you finally came!"- Exclaimed Terrador.

-"The meeting was just waiting for you to come. Now we can begin."- Said Cyril.

Spyro and Cynder entered completely the room. It was a big, round room lightly lit by torches, no windows. There was nothing else than the torches and the stone walls. The three remaining guardians where present, also, Hunter was there. As soon as Spyro sighted Hunter his head started to ache. He let out a slight moan of pain and then all his sight turned black...

/Flashback/

Spyro was staring at a whole cheetah tribe living in the Valley of Avalar. He had just fought against many foes who had tried to destroy their village. They did succeed a little. Spyro just heard about a missing friend of them. So he offered help.

-"We will come back with your missing friend."- Said Spyro completely decided to achieve his assignment. -"Hunter can come with us."-

-"You can do as you see good, but Hunter stays here."- Said the cheetah leader. Prowlus was his name.

Spyro turned his face to look at Hunter, his friend, who was tied to a wooden pillar. Right in the middle of the cheetah village. He seemed to feel useless because of the situation.

-"And don't you dare to come back here without Meadow. As you will probably only succeed in bringing more grublins here."- Where the last things him and Cynder heard before leaving towards the Valley of Avalar. With their objective clear.

/End of Flashback/

-"Meadow!"- Shouted Spyro when his head stopped aching. He faced Hunter quickly. -"I'm starting to remember now, Hunter."- Spyro turned to look at Cynder. -"We helped him find his friend, called Meadow, didn't we?"- He asked.

-"Yes."- Was Cynder's simple answer.

-"Is good to see you are starting to remember, dear friend."- Said Hunter, happy to see precisely that.

-"Yes, it is."-Said Volteer. -"I hope you get your whole memory back soon, young dragon."-

-"Yes... That would be nice..."- Said Cynder, blushing.

-"Well, time for the information, Spyro, there are many things you need to know before we act. We've got a whole plan ahead. You'll be aware of it as soon as you've been properly informed."- Said Terrador.

-"Ok... I'm ready, tell me all you've got."- Said Spyro getting ready for the worst, he really had no idea of what things he would hear. But he knew it would involve darkness and the weird voice in his nightmares.

-"Alright, it all started right after we felt Spyro's energy putting the world back together."- Started Terrador.

-"As soon as we got outside of our underground hideouts, somehow I could feel a great source of darkness. Right before getting back to Warfang I decided to go investigate."- Told Volteer. -"That is when the group got split up, I took a couple of Moles with me, Terrador, Cyril, Sparx and the others went towards Warfang. After a little walk I found a cave, many monsters were going out of it and they were heading to an unknown location. I sent the moles to tell the other guardians to come and I followed the creatures until the night came. I lost their trace as soon as the other guardians came, but when they were here, we decided to surprise the creatures and find what they were up to."-

-"We followed their direction and when we caught up with them we noticed they were attacking. We took a closer look and sighted you, Cynder and Kate being attacked so we went down to help. We did it just in time, just before they killed you... So, we sorted the monsters and brought the three of you here, to Warfang. We've been looking after you since then. We found Kate was the most injured of you but for our surprise she was the first to wake up and ask for you."- Proceeded Cyril. Cynder's body slightly trembled.

-"Yeah, I remember her... She was looking badly wounded... Did she seriously ask for me?"- Spyro felt suddenly ashamed.

-"You can bet she did... She was really worried."- Answered Volteer. -"At the third day since her awakening she was fully healed. Weird thing isn't it? But the two days later she had a discussion with Cynder, with unforeseen consequences. Her healing is really accelerated, we think she'll be running and jumping by tomorrow."- He commented.

-"Is good to hear that. Do you think this has to do with her powers?"- Asked Spyro, intrigued.

-"Maybe, is very hard to find a dragon whose powers reach psychic capabilities."- Said Cyril. -"But there is also something really dark within her. And she is starting to influence beings here. Even I'm starting to feel heavy... That is why she is alone in that room."-

-"You too?"- Said Cynder in great surprise. -"I thought I was the only one to dislike her."-

-"I did not say that and you know it. You must improve your treat with Kate. You have been quite unfair with her since the first minute after you woke up."- Replied Cyril in a severe tone.

-"I know... Yes. But I don't like her, is not my fault. It can't be helped."- Said Cynder.

-"I know..."- Said Spyro -"I don't blame you for what happened."- He had made his decision. If Kate was right in everything she said about herself, it was true, what happened was not Cynder's fault. She was the one with the most darkness. In fact, if she had four elements, like she told him and he could see in the battle, it was because of this darkness in her. -"In fact. I was looking forward to say I'm..."-

-"Hey, we will have time to talk about Kate or Cynder later on. Wasn't this meeting to tell my brother what we've… you've discovered?"- Interrupted Sparx.

-"Sparx! There are ways to say things! But yes, there is more."- Said Cyril.

-"Right. Two days after the attack I sent a team of moles to investigate that cave, where I saw the monsters come from. There was a lot of darkness there. And the report from the moles was really unusual."- Told Volteer.

-"The moles reported to sight a castle, hidden underground in the depths of the cave. It is six days after the attack."- Proceeded Cyril. -"We decided to go check that out by ourselves, because it was quite unbelievable. Terrador went over there. While me and Volteer took care of the three of you."-

-"To prevent the story from getting too long."- Said Terrador, his voice's sound was kind of like in a rush. -"There was, in fact, an underground castle. It radiated darkness and the door was impossible to open from outside. It was protected with some sort of spell."-

-"Weird... So we think the being that has the voice from my nightmares lives here?"- Asked Spyro.

-"Yes, and that is why we've made up a plan."- Informed Volteer.

-"The reason why I didn't want the story to get too long."- Explained Terrador.

-"Alright. We know you are not totally recovered yet, Spyro. So you have got three days to rest. Then, Volteer will tell you the way to the cave. You and Cynder will go and try to sneak into the castle, while me and the guardians will stay training Later Kate for further combat."- Said Cyril with a serious expression on his face. -"You'll stay here until then. If you've got any questions we will all be here to inform you about anything."-

-"... Ok. I guess we have to..."- Said Spyro, his feelings were all getting mixed up. He felt the weight of the responsibility, if there was another dark threat, he felt he should protect the other beings at all cost, that is how he was. But he was also kind of getting tired of it. Wouldn't he get a rest? There was always something, not to mention he had just awakened from a 2-week-long sleep.

-"And... In the name of all of us, I want to apologize, Spyro. We know you must be sick of this."- It was like if Hunter had been able to read Spyro's mind. -"We must say we didn't see this one coming so soon..."-

-"Yes, not even me..."- Said Spyro sadly.

-"Come on Spyro... Cheer up. Hopefully this will be the last time something like this happens"- Said Cynder, she got close to him and moved her wing around Spyro's back. Hugging him.

-"Hopefully. Thank you Cynder."- Spyro turned his face to look at the guardians, who just stood there. Spyro knew they understood his point. Maybe they could not find the words to cheer him up. Ignitus would have found them, he always did. -"Was that all?"-

-"Uhh... Yes Spyro, you can go now."- Replied Volteer.

-"Ok."- Spyro knew he shouldn't make the others feel bad too. So he tried to conceal his feelings for himself. Still, he knew also that the others were already aware of that. He tried to get out of the meeting like if nothing had happened. -"Then I'll go rest. I need to be all set to go. Three days right?"- Asked Spyro as he advanced towards the exit. He stopped there, waiting for the answer.

-"Yes. We decided that because we also want you to rest. You know, relax, chill out and all that stuff."- Answered Sparx in a funny way.

-"Ha ha!"- Laughed Spyro as he stepped outside of the room, Cynder followed him after saying good bye to everyone. -"Ok then, is getting dark outside, so I'll just go to sleep in the bed where I woke up."-

-"Alright. Good night Spyro."- Said Terrador.

-"Good night"- Followed Cyril and Volteer. -"And to you too, Cynder."-

-"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."- Said Spyro. -"Cynder, lets go. I need to talk to you."-

-"Oh boy..."- Cynder's voice sounded worried.

-"Don't worry. I'm not upset anymore but I really need to say something"- Said Spyro while the guardians and Hunter left the room. Each one of them took different directions and left the two youngest dragons alone. -"Now we can talk."- Spyro started to walk slowly, leading the way to the room where he woke up. Cynder followed him with both his direction and his pace.

-"What is it Spyro?"- Cynder gently asked.

-"I really wanted to apologize... For shouting at you like that before... I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."- Whispered Spyro. A small tear slowly appeared on Cynder's eye when the memory came back. -"Please, try to understand me... I was just awakened, and I had the nightmares again... When I wake up they tell me I've been asleep for two weeks, that is almost like a comma to me... I was really stressed, so when I heard about Kate, I simply... Kind of exploded."-

-"Is ok Spyro, I completely understand. Don't you worry, I'll get over it."- Replied Cynder with a slight smile on her face.

-"Cynder, I just want you to know that it doesn't matter what happens. I'll always be your friend."- Spyro smiled back at her, but his words didn't seem to ease her pain. Spyro felt horrible because of hurting her like that. Maybe if he gave her some time she would forgive him... Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have reacted like that...

Spyro and Cynder were half the way to the room when he decided it was about time to give her a few minutes alone. Spyro turned to another direction. He had a visit to do. -"I'm not sleepy yet... I'll go for a walk a while. Should we meet in the room?"- He decided not to tell her about his visit to Kate. That would probably just stress her even more.

-"Sure thing, if I'm not fast asleep yet."- Replied Cynder.

-"I'll be right back, take care."- Said Spyro before leaving through another corridor.

Even thought the last time he was in a rush, Spyro easily found his way to the Recovery Room without the need to read any of the signs. He slowly walked through the right way. That was the first time he even bothered to look around, as he was walking his way towards the Recovery Room he saw small gardens, which led to the corridors by some arches that worked both as walls and as entrances. The gardens were like small plazas which decorated all the way with various kinds of plants. Some of them even started to glow with the arrival of the dusk, making the gardens look even more beautiful with green, yellow and red lights.

While walking through the beautiful scenery the memory of his friends couldn't help but to come to his mind. He visualized Kate in his mind, so innocent and yet she wanted to train in order to be a fighting dragoness, she had no idea of the life that would await her. He also saw Cynder, the dragoness he had hurt so badly with his words, he should have thought twice before shouting and being so mean with her. Spyro just hoped their friendship would recover, he knew he messed things up, apart from hurting her feelings. He visualized Ignitus, his infinitely wise friend... And father, gone forever and he couldn't remember how all happened. Spyro was missing him already.

Spyro arrived at the Recovery Room faster than he thought he would. He went straight to the entrance and watched inside.

-"Hey Kate, sorry it took me so long to come, I was..."- Spyro stopped taking when he looked inside. Kate was comfortably sleeping in her bed, Spyro was afraid of waking her up but fortunately for him she didn't seem to notice him. So he just stated.

Ever since the first time they met, this was the first time that the situation was not really tense, there was only calm and a perfect silence. It was also the first time Spyro was able to look at her in detail. All her body was a dark orange colour, with a slightly clearer underbelly, her wing membranes were a not too sightable light blue, wich combined perfectly with the orange tones of her body, yet, those were really weird colours for any dragon. She had a leaf-like tail blade, not too sharp or deadly either... Spyro did not understand how could she want to become a killer, sort of, just to be with them, he didn't want her to, but it seemed to be important for her. He just hoped she didn't do anything she would regret about later. He watched her peaceful sleep, her chest moving rhythmically with her breath... By the time he noticed, he could have been there more than fifteen minutes. It was about time for him to get some sleep too. So he turned around to head back at the other room, to meet with Cynder.

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><p>-"(Spyro has no idea... I probably shouldn't be doing this...)"- Thought Cynder as she followed Spyro through many halls. She watched his every move, silently. Some times he stopped to look at the gardens, looking thoughtful. Her body shivered when she noticed where Spyro was going... But it was just a theory, she would have to wait to see for herself...<p>

A few minutes after that, her fear became truth. She saw Spyro enter the room and say something, but she didn't pay attention to his words, she was deeply immersed in her thoughts... How could all that be happening? How unfortunate had she been with Spyro loosing his memory... She heard no more sounds, but she didn't want to, she didn't care about their conversation. She was willing to fight for her lost love. Kate would regret what she had done with Cynder's life, a broken leg would be nothing... Cynder just had to wait for the right right to come.

Cynder stepped back and returned to the room where she was supposed to be waiting for Spyro to come, and to have no idea of what was happening.

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><p>Spyro arrived at the other room, he knew Cynder would be there, so he decided it was better not to tell her, not to stress her with his night visit.<p>

-"Cynder, are you awake?"- He whispered.

-"Yes, come here."- She answered gently.

-"Ok."- Spyro was able to see her laying in the bed next to the one where he had been, probably for a week... So he assumed he was supposed to sleep there. He got there and laid, getting comfortable and facing Cynder.

-"So... What did you do? It took you so long to get here..."- She asked, really curious.

-"I... I just went for a short walk, to take some fresh air, you know... I also stopped to stare... At the gardens, they've got some beautiful gardens here."- He answered, it felt so bad to lie at his friend like that... And he also was a terrible liar... He just hoped she would not spot that one.

-"Hmmm... Fresh air. Sure I get it, its been a hard day for you."- Answered Cynder kind of distant. -"Good night Spyro."- She said before closing her eyes.

-"Ok, (Phew...) Good night Cynder."- Said Spyro before going to sleep himself...

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><p>-"The day is coming, Shadow."- Said the evil voice.<p>

-"Do you want me to send another army to intercept them? Master."- Asked Shadow.

-"No, we will wait for them to come... And give them a warm welcome to our castle, they'll have enough hard times in here!"- Laughed the voice, before dissapearing...

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><p>AN: Ok, sorry if it seemed like if I was being mean back there, I've been really stressed lately... Things in High School haven't been totally right this last month...

Also, I had to go through a lack of motivation, or imagination? The fact is that I could not write as fast as I wanted to, so I'm sorry. That goes for you, Star Duster The Dragoness, you told me to hurry, but I could not, I'm really sorry about that.

And for those of you who still don't know, to be oftenly updated, visit my blog which has been set as my home page, at my FF profile. You may want to check it once or twice a week to know everything about this story.

Please... Give me a review!

Thanks for taking time to read this.

- Fenrir


	7. Leaving

A/N: Great, here you have Chapter 7. Finally.

Enjoy:

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><p>Chapter 7: Leaving<p>

Three days had gone so fast... Spyro could nearly not believe he was about to leave the facility where he had been trapped in the last two days. That its right... The next day would be the day for him to leave. Trapped because he had noticed he was kind of locked, the place where he had been the hole time was actually closed, no windows, and only one exit. Which was locked because: "Spyro hadn't rested enough to go outside yet." According to Cyril.

Nothing special had happened those last two days... No new information or anything. One of the things Spyro liked the most was that he finally got to eat. He had said it himself, he could not survive with Crystals only, so he had been both surprised and relieved when the guardians introduced him to Ariana, she was a water, adult dragoness who used to manage the food in this place where he was. Spyro was happy about eating fresh sheep... From the other side, Cynder was behaving even worse with Kate every time, every little thing seemed to cause a furious reaction from Cynder against Kate, and those things happened without a real reason! Not to mention that just as Volteer guessed, Kate was totally recovered the day after the meeting, so Kate had been hanging around with them all the time.

-"I know you are leaving soon, so I want to spend some time with you before you leave! There are so many things I don't know about you yet..."- Was Kate's perfect excuse. Spyro didn't mind, in fact, he was happy to get to know more about his new friend.

-"With you knowing I don't like you following us is enough for me."- Cynder's frequent answer. Even knowing it was because of some strange curse. Spyro was having a hard time trying to tolerate her, but he said nothing because of Kate, she didn't want him to be rude with Cynder. He also didn't say anything because of his conscious, he had lied to Cynder, and she had been kind of distant with him also. How would she react if he told her where he went that night?

Things got worse really fast, Kate as soon as she recovered went to the other room to sleep with them. Thing that really bothered Cynder, a lot.

Cynder started a fight for almost everything all the time. To remember one, the three of them were eating, well, about to eat together...

/Flashback/

-"Hey Spyro, you wanted to eat, right? Ariana here has the most delicious sheeps I've ever tasted."- Said Kate with her usual happy tone.

-"I bet they do. Here they have great things, I like to watch the gardens at night. They are great, that glow..."- Yes, Spyro was still impressed by those.

-"Bad luck you don't remember the Enchanted Forest. That was amazing. There were lights everywhere."- Had commented Cynder.

-"Enchanted Forest... I think I've been there!"- Replied Kate.

-"And who asked you...?"- Luckily for Kate, Ariana came just in time. She was carrying a tasty looking sheep for them. Obviously, she had prepared it earlier, so it was just the meat and some bones. That was... Different, Spyro was used to eat them complete, even with wool.

-"Ok dragons, here you go!"- Said Ariana as she gave them the food. -"I used some special spices for this one. Hope you like it!"-

-"Thank you Ari!"- Said Kate. -"Spyro..."- Said both Kate and Cynder at the same time. -"Whoops! Sorry, continue Cynder."- Kate said really courteous.

-"...Ok, thanks. Hey Spyro, what piece of this delicious lamb would you like?"-Asked Cynder trying not to show her discomfort with Kate "Politely" allowing her to speak first.

-"Curious thing. I was about to ask exactly the same thing! So, Spyro, which piece would you like to taste for your first meal in two weeks?"- Asked Kate with a smile.

-"Hey watch it! That is really low!"- Shouted Cynder.

-"Here we go... I'd better leave. Enjoy the food."- Said Ariana before leaving, she was also getting used to Cynder's sudden outbursts.

-"What did I do now?"- Asked Kate. Making a slight sign with her head to Spyro, she didn't want him to be mean with her again. So Spyro just kept quiet.

-"If you really want to get closer to Spyro, could you at least say something for yourself? Are you really so mindless that you can't think of anything by yourself?"- She said angrily.

-"Yeah whatever... I think I'll have this... Nope, you girls pick first."- Said Spyro with a smile.

-"Thank you Spyro."- Replied Kate smiling back at him.

-"That was it! I'm leaving!"- Cynder got two pieces of the lamb for herself and headed towards the exit. -"Enjoy your meal Spyro."- She said before leaving.

Kate and spyro stared at each other for a few seconds, Spyro's disapproval was really clear.

-"You sure you don't want me to react? Its so hard to just watch how she treats you... Didn't she hurt your feelings?"- Asked Spyro right after Cynder left, there had been a few seconds of uncomfortable since then, and Spyro was really concerned.

-"Don't you worry, Spyro. I'm used to that treating when I'm around with someone for too long. Specially if he has as much darkness as Cynder has. Bad luck for me, everyone has darkness in it's insides. Yet, I could find you."- Replied Kate with a smile.

-"Well, thanks... Uh..."- Spyro was not sure about what to say. -"Still, I don't think that is correct... Come on, Cynder behaves like a young child around you."-

-"And that is the way that I roll."- Commented Kate laughing. -"She is slowly loosing her ability to think clearly. That is why I'll have to leave both of you soon. For your own good, I always have to leave."- Kate's voice was really serious. -"But if the guardians do not explode, I mean their darkness, because of my presence. I may be able to be here when you get back from your mission. And I'm aware that during the trip I won't be around, so Cynder will have some time to cool down. You can be sure she will come back to normal during your travel. And that way, when you come back, I may be able to meet the real Cynder before leaving"-

-"Kate... I don't want you to leave..."- Said Spyro.

-"Lets not worry about that now and get a good meal."- She said with a big smile as she picked the pieces of sheep she wanted.

-"Ok... And thanks, for enduring Cynder all this time."- He apologized.

-"Don't worry, anything for being with y..."- Kate clearly blushed. But she was able to hide it and smile right after that. -"Enjoy your first taste of food!"-

Then, Spyro and Kate just continued to eat silently. She was right, that turned out to be one of the best sheeps Spyro had ever tasted.

/End of Flashback/

Now, the night before leaving, Spyro was the only one awake. Wondering what kind of things would happen since the very first moment he stepped outside. He hoped that there was nothing to the underground castle. But he could not deny that there was something evil around, that voice in his dreams was enough proof. Sleepy, Spyro got laid, his bed was in the middle of Kate's and Cynder's. He was relieved to know he would soon get to speak with the real, cute and caring Cynder again. He took a quick look at his friends, so distant with each other... He would try to find a way, there had to be an alternative. He would seek for a way to prevent Kate's powers from influencing Cynder. He didn't want to loose any of them. Spyro slowly fell asleep to be rested for the day to come.

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><p>Spyro stood up by the side of the big gate, literally itching to see outside. What would Warfang look like? Cynder, standing by his side, had described the city as a beautiful place. A place great to live in, if it wasn't attacked like that time Spyro could not remember.<p>

It was opened the gate so that they could go outside. Spyro saw that they had been in a hill close to a city, he assumed that was Warfang. According to the plan, he and Cynder would go to the city and exit trough the main gate there.

During those three days he had never been clear about what kind of facility he had been in. At times, it seemed to be a hospital, but there was no one else there than him, Cynder, Kate, the guardians, and a few other dragons, like Ariana, Erik and Claire, also a white dragoness called Mira, who was the local nurse. Erik and Claire were two young brothers, just one year younger than Kate, who was one year younger than Spyro and Cynder. They were really nice dragons to spend some time with, but most of the time, they were with Kate. Cynder was usually in a bad mood and Spyro used to be busy trying to calm her down with no results. One of the reasons that made that place not being a hospital was that there was only one Recovery Room, plus, it had a Meeting Room. It also had some sort of headquarter, where only the guardians entered sometimes. But Spyro was not willing to ask where he was, it was not the moment and it was not really important. All he wanted to do was to go outside and catch some fresh air that moment.

With the gate opened, Spyro turned back to see the guardians and Kate, who were all there to say "Good Bye". Kate gave him a deep, encouraging look, like saying "I'll wait for you.". Spyro smiled at her, getting another smile as a reply.

-"Come back soon!"- She said happily. -"Take care Spyro! And Cynder, you too!"-

Cynder started to walk towards the city, so he thought it was better to follow her. She was the one who remembered the city after all. So they both started to walk down the hill in order to get to Warfang...

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><p>Kate just watched how her friends turned their back at her to face the adventure, she didn't know exactly why she wanted to be leaving with them... Because she had never had a real adventure in her life or because of being with Spyro. In either way it didn't matter, it was better for her to stay with the guardians and receive some combat training from them. Next time she would leave with them, next time she would be able to take care of herself and she could help them.<p>

Her friends, whose figures disappeared from her sight slowly, going towards a city she didn't know either. Terrador slowly closed the gate in front of her and then he faced her with a smile.

-"I heard from Cyril you would stay here to train a while. Good luck."- Said the earth guardian.

-"Thank you Terrador... So, do you know when we will begin?"- Asked Kate impatient.

-"We will get to that. For now, you'd better get some good rest, because tomorrow you start."- He informed.

-"But it is midday only! Come on... I've rested enough this weeks!"- She complained.

-"It is the first time you'll train for battle, isn't it?"- Asked Terrador.

-"Yes but I've been in a real battle already! Doesn't that count?"- She argued.

-"Do not worry. Next time you will be ready to go with Spyro and Cynder. For now, I think I speak for all if us when I say we would rather start tomorrow."- Said Terrador laughing slightly.

-"OK... then I'll get back to the room. See you for dinner!"- Replied Kate with a smile and her characteristic happy tone.

-"See you later, Kate"- Answered Terrador as he left the main gate room.

Kate also turned around to leave, she went towards the room she had shared with both Spyro and Cynder for two days. In her way she passed through many of those small gardens Spyro liked a lot.

-"(He is right... They are beautiful even in the day)"- She thought as she passed by. The scenery of colours and scents had no equal.

When she arrived, she instantly got laid. She started to think about her friends, she was missing them already and sending lots of good wishes. For both of them. She also thought about what Terrador said, knowing he was right. It was better for her to rest a little more, she knew that the training would be exhausting.

But, even thought that, she was not willing to just stay there doing nothing. She was not tired at all. So she got up on her feet and walked outside to look for something to do.

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><p>Spyro and Cynder had arrived at the Dragon City. Spyro's first thought about it was not quite good... But later on, he realized that it was completely logical for the city to be like that. First of all, Malefor's army attacked the city, obviously leaving it with some damage. And then, the city had to stand the near destruction of the world. He didn't remember those things, but Cynder left some points of the story really clear, so he didn't ask anything. As they walked towards the main city gate, Spyro's sight was a devastated city. The moles were working hard to rebuild some walls that were down, reduced to piles of brick, some dragons were helping the moles clean up the mess in the streets of the city. To resume, it was not a good first sight for him. But he was kind of aware of what had happened.<p>

-"Well, as you can see, things are kind of moved in the city."- Commented Cynder. -"Maybe, when this is all over,we will get to know the city as it is supposed to be. I think it would be a great place."-

-"Yeah, I bet it is..."- Whispered Spyro. They turned around corner and Spyro watched a burnt house that seemed strangely familiar to him. As soon as he watched it, his head started to ache. -"Ah...! Ngh..."-

-"Spyro! What happened?"- Asked Cynder, worried to watch him complain in pain. -"Are you Ok?"-

-"Ah... It... It's happening ag... It's coming back..."- Were the last words Spyro was able to say before his sight started to blur out to slowly fade to white...

/Flashback/

-"Please help us! Is getting really hot in here!"- Yelled a mole, who was trapped inside a burning house.

-"Stay in a safe place! We are going to look for some water!"- Replied Spyro.

-"Spyro, I see a fountain over there. Wee have to search for some buckets to turn off that fire."- Said Cynder.

-" But please hurry up! I don't know how long this thing will stand!"- Yelled the mole starting to panic.

-"Consider it done!"- Yelled Spyro back at them. Then he turned back to face Cynder. -"Lets go, he is right, the house will not take too long to burn completely..."-

-"Then what are we waiting for?"- Replied Cynder taking off to search for something to bring water at the house. Spyro immediately followed her...

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><p>.<p>

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><p>-"... All the rest of you who can still fight! We need to get up there! We need to help them battle!"- Informed Spyro.<p>

-"Follow us! We know the fastest way up there!"- Replied a mole.

-"Great! Cynder, lets go."- Said Spyro as he started to follow the mole's lead...

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Spyro found himself repairing a broken catapult along with Cynder's help. He saw how some of Malefor's war machines hit the tower next to him. So when he finished with the catapult, he went over to the war machine, which was guarded by many enemies he had to sort quickly, but when he approached it, a Black Crystal appeared and started to leave him with no magic power, in the meantime, more enemies appeared also. It was one of his more exhausting experiences...<p>

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><p>.<p>

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><p>The creature that had just hit Volteer and dropped him down to the ground was really enormous. It had burning red eyes and had some of those Dark Crystals all over its body. Cynder and Spyro started to fight it, dodging some giant punches and using their magic in order to make it weak. After a quite long battle, they were able to reach the Dark Crystal on the creature's head and attack it. Dropping the creature dead on the ground...<p>

/End of Flashback/

-"Ah... "- Spyro caught back his breath and opened his eyes slowly.

-"Are you alright? I got really worried! What happened to you?"- Asked Cynder.

-"Don't worry Cynder, thank you... I... I just remembered..."- Spyro stopped to look at the devastated city around him for a while. -"What happened here, I can't imagine what would have happened if we didn't arrive when we did..."-

-"Yeah... Good thing we came. Is great to see that your memory continues to come back."- Said Cynder, facing him with a smile Spyro knew he hadn't seen in quite a long time.

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><p>Cynder continued to walk along happily with Spyro by her side. She felt relieved from the first second she stepped in Warfang, away from Kate. It was walking with Spyro, all alone, that she was completely happy. She started to realize that Kate didn't have all the fault... For some reason, Cynder couldn't help but to behave like that when she was around her. Cynder remembered Kate's words back under the tree... Giving it second thoughts, she noticed that she felt lighter the more distant she got.<p>

Cynder felt sorry for Kate's situation, but she was still someone blocking the path between her and Spyro, Cynder needed to be cautious about that. She would not loose the dragon she loved. But most of the killer instinct got away from her as she approached the city's exit.

Anyway, there would be other time to worry about the stranger. Right now, all Cynder wanted to do was to enjoy her time with Spyro as long as the travel lasted, and hopefully, there would be nothing to the underground castle.

Cynder nearly blushed when she noticed Spyro was quietly looking at her.

-"What is it?"- She laughed in a kind of playful tone.

-"Your smile... I can't remember seeing it in a long time. Is beautiful"- Said Spyro back at her.

-"Thank... Thank you."- This time she couldn't control her emotions as well as before. She just watched her beloved Spyro and felt the instant impulse to go over to him and kiss him, but he had no memories of anything... Or not of all... She kept telling to herself that his memory would come back soon by itself, but soon her strong feelings defeated any other thought... -"Spyro... There is something I need you to know..."-

-"What is it Cynder? Is everything alright?"- He asked, so innocent. Cynder could feel how she also started to feel nervous.

-"Yes, don't worry... It... It is something else that happened back in Malefor's lair..."- She began, but she was not willing to tell everything, there was a certain point she needed him to know, and the moment had come.

-"What happened? Don't be nervous, you can tell me."- Replied Spyro giving her a friendly and trustful look.

-"(It is not that simple...) Spyro..."- Cynder looked deep into the eyes of her loved dragon for some short seconds. The time had come, once more... -"Spyro... I... I l..."-

-"Hey! Look who is there!"- Shouted a voice in the distance. -"Spyro! Over here!"- Both Spyro and Cynder turned to face the direction the voice came from.

-"Wow, is the mole from the catapult... (I DON'T BELIEVE IT!) You... You remember him, don't you?"- Asked Cynder, angered with the world because of not being able to confess her true feelings. What if, like the last time, she was only able to tell him when it was too late...?

-"Yes."- He answered. -"You gave us some trouble back then!"- Spyro joked.

-"Well, I know how to operate a catapult... But I'm not as effective when I'm in close range, surrounded."- Said the mole when he reached them, he stood up by Spyro's side. -"How have you been? I can't believe you got to save the world! Thank you very much."-

-"Uhm... You are welcome, I guess... If everyone says so, it must be true..."- He replied quite insecure.

-"It must... What? This is no time to be humble, you know... You saved us all!"- He exclaimed happily.

-"He lost his memory right after doing it."- Informed Cynder when she noticed the mole looking at Spyro's confused expression. -"But it is coming back."-

-"Oh. Well, we can wait. And we owe it to you!"- He said.

-"Yeah... So, you will come with us to the gate?"- Asked Cynder, she tried to be kind, but her upset because of the intrusion was starting to show up.

-"I think yes... I can get it opened for you."- He offered.

-"Thank you."- Said Spyro. So, Cynder would just have to stand the company.

-"No, thank YOU! You are a hero! You are awe..."- He answered starting to get carried away.

-"Lets not talk about that, please."- He interrupted. Spyro tried to hide it, but Cynder could notice he was thinking about all the time he had lost in his life to become that "Hero".

-"Ok, sorry. I guess we can say good bye now."- Replied the mole, Cynder hadn't realized earlier that they had already arrived at the main gate. -"Guys!"- He yelled to the top of the gate, a small mole's head showed up in the edge of it.

-"What is it?"- Screamed back the other mole.

-"Please open the gate!"- He asked.

-"We've got it!"- Said the other mole before disappearing.

-"Thanks."-Said both Spyro and Cynder at the same time. -"(We could have done that.)"- Thought Cynder to herself.

Slowly, the gate started to open, revealing the outsides of Warfang to both of them. They were looking at a great field covered in grass, the grass' smell was both strong and pleasant. There were trees in some separated spots and also some birds could be heard singing their tunes at midday. Cynder and Spyro both faced the direction Terrador had told them to follow.

-"Are you ready? We don't know what kind of things are expecting us out there..."- Asked Cynder's loved dragon.

-"Yes, sure I am. And I don't care. Together, we can do this."- She answered, clearly making Spyro feel better.

-"Sure. Lets go."- He said smiling at her. She gave the smile back.

-"Ok, good bye. And good luck with whatever you are about to do."- Said the mole heading back to the city.

Cynder and Spyro listened to the gate closing behind them, but they didn't turn back. They continued to walk a few steps towards their destiny. And the, both the dragons took off to fly to an adventure...

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><p>.<p>

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><p>.<p>

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><p>AN: I know, I know... This is not what I had announced, but things have been really hard lately... I finished my exams and they were tougher than I thought...

I think I didn't do good on some of them, so things are starting to mess up here.

Hey, I'm not the kind of writer who lives from reviews... But seriously, could you give me some? I'm starting to feel a lack of them... Sorry to bother you.

If you are too busy to go read my blog, here is the summary, next chapter will take a while to come, I'll make use of Star Duster The Dragoness' advice, to take a rest before getting down to write more. Also, I'll write another story in the meantime. For more details, check out the blog, LOL. (The blog is set as my homepage.)

I'm also offering Beta services now, I spot mistakes in other's stories easier than in mine... *Sigh* If you need any help, do not hesitate to ask for some, as now I won't be writing mine or studying all time. If you liked my style with this fanfic, then you may be interested. Just saying...

If you like this story... Never mind.

See you later.

- Fenrir

PS: (I'll post an update on my blog tonight. On my time zone, of course. For those who have checked it this last two weeks: No, I haven't forgotten about it, I've been too busy for those things now...)


	8. Journey And Training

A/N: Here you go! Chapter 8 for the story!

I'm proud to say that this didn't took me too long to write since I posted my other story! I don't want to bore you for too long in here, I know you want to read the story, so all the important parts are on the final A/N.

Enjoy!

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><p>.<p>

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Chapter 8: Journey  Training

Spyro and Cynder had been flying for a while. Just as they expected, following the direction mentioned by Terrador before, they found a river. According to Volteer, if they followed it for a few more miles, they would find some sort of plain field, where they would find some sheeps and good places for sleeping. They would spend a night of rest there before proceeding to the castle.

Also, as expected, in the few time Cynder had been away from Kate, the improve in her attitude was amazing. Spyro was starting to look at Cynder the same way he had done before. A dragoness nice to spend some time with. Some of this improvement was shown when they had passed through the field were Spyro had awakened after "Saving the world." as everyone said he did. That place turned out to be really close to Warfang. In fact Spyro wondered for a second where had been Kate, when the world was breaking apart, how would she be feeling. But then he realized it didn't really matter, everyone was alright, so there was no need to think about that.

/Flashback/

Flying through the field where a fierce battle took place about two weeks and a half ago, Spyro couldn't help but to feel sad. The once flowered field that witnessed his awakening was all burnt and destroyed, just a few herbs had already started to grow back and it would take a long time for it to be the beautiful place it had been. The land was all burnt and destroyed in a radius of about 50 meters... That turned out to be the reach of the big explosion Kate produced with some strange powers.

-"This is awful... Why were those looking for us? Right the same day we seem to have destroyed Malefor... I thought it would take longer for the forces of evil to regroup..."- Had said Spyro. He was just looking forward to leave that devastated sight a soon as possible.

-"We will investigate that... I think this whole castle thing is a mouthful..."- Had replied Cynder, with her mind lost on other thoughts.

-"But Cynder, you can't deny it for a second. They attacked us, and they would have killed the three of us if the guardians didn't show up."- Spyro's concern was really huge. He noticed Cynder paid him more attention after his last comment.

-"Don't worry Spyro, dear. If they are looking for us, lets eliminate them. I think it will be nothing compared to what we had to do to defeat Malefor"- Answered Cynder with a relax tone. Spyro was not sure about how to proceed.

-"I don't see how you can be taking it that easy... They have already defeated us once."- Said Spyro thinking out loud.

-"I was sleepy, you were just half-way recovered and Kate had no idea how to defend herself."- Answered Cynder with a air of confidence. -"It will be different when we go chase them down. Maybe even... Even Kate can help then."-

-"Well, you may be right... Wow, you call me dear, you remember Kate in your plan... Nice from you, its been a while."- Commented Spyro with a happy look on his face.

-"Uh... Dear, that was just a word that came to my mind..."- Said Cynder, she suddenly was blushing and a little nervous. When she got over that, she made sure to change the topic. -"Hey, now I do feel a little sorry for Kate... But I'm sorry, I just cannot help it... Maybe the darkness on me is too big, the worst part is that I'm aware of it, but I can't do anything about it..."-

-"I can't say I know how you feel Cynder... But I can imagine how Kate feels, forced to be alone, no one deserves that."- Said Spyro.

-"Oh... Well, I didn't really see it that way... So? Let her stay."- Answered Cynder looking at him. Spyro couldn't believe his ears.

-"Cynder, I cannot choose between you two... And if Kate stays... You'll be, no offense, tiring... Sometimes I just think it would be easier if I left..."- Replied Spyro with difficulties.

-"Hey, don't be stressed, Spyro."- Said Cynder giving him a encouraging look. -"I... I see it is important for you... And I'm fine as long as you are happy. I'll find a way to stand Kate."-

-"Thank you Cynder."- Answered Spyro, feeling a little down. -"(I know those feelings of her will go away as soon as we are back.)"-

/End of Flashback/

-"Hey! Look at that!"- Said Cynder, bringing Spyro back from his memories. -"Could this be the place that the guardians were talking about?"- Cynder wondered as she looked around looking for some sort of reference.

-"There are many caves around here. According to Cyril, there must be one with a sun carved close to the entrance..."- Said Spyro as he looked at all the caves from far away, nine on the east and fourteen on the west.

They arrived to the plain from the south. It was a field that had small elevations on the sides, the river flowed through it and there were trees around it. The river crossed the small valley from south to north getting a inclination towards the east as it approached the end of the valley. A few spots were covered with red and yellow flowers. And a small bridge was built to cross the river for those who couldn't fly. Spyro and Cynder both looked at the wooden bridge for a few seconds, confused.

-"It was probably done by the same... Thing that carved the sun in the cave."- Thought Spyro out loud.

-"Yeah, I hope it is a comfortable one. Lets look for it and go find something to eat. Night will come in around two more hours."- Informed Cynder.

-"Alright. I'll take the west, you go look four it on the east, ok?"- Asked Spyro with the clear intention to get the longest work himself.

-"Ok, you just shout if you happen to find it."- Answered Cynder smiling.

-"Done!"- Said Spyro happily before taking off. He flew to get a closer look at the caves and he saw Cynder do the same. He looked some of the caves, around eight of them before listening to Cynder's voice from far away.

-"Found it! Come here!"- Yelled Cynder from the other side of the valley.

Spyro immediately turned around and took off to meet Cynder at the other side. Cynder was staring at a figure next to a cave, the so called sun was there, and there was also a hole of about the same size next to it.

-"Intriguing..."- Commented Cynder.

-"Yeah, but it is probably nothing. Lets look for something to eat. Now that we know this is the right place."- Said Spyro as he took off to fly once more. He climbed up to a height where he could see the whole valley. Cynder followed him and they both looked around for a while until Spyro found a small group of about five sheep. -"I think that is enough."- He said as he pointed the lambs for Cynder to see.

-"Sorry little fellas!"- Said Cynder happily before diving at high speed. Spyro saw how she took a quick curve and grabbed a sheep with her claws, all the others freaked out, and guided by the survival instinct, started to run away in all directions. -"Spyro! You'll miss dinner!"- She shouted before flying inside of the cave.

Spyro saw how right Cynder was and quickly did the same thing, he was able to catch the biggest one. And he took it inside of the cave. Once inside, he saw there was a large tunnel he would have to follow until the end of the cave. The lamb moving in his claws, desperate to break free, started to bother him a little, so he decided to kill it before proceeding.

-"Nothing personal... Is just the way nature is!"- Said Spyro.

-"Meh! Me e e e e e eh!"-

Spyro used a quick move of his body to throw the sheep towards the irregular wall of rock, making sure that its head hit it. He heard a silent cracking sound and watched the sheep shake a little on the floor, then just silence. He grabbed his food and continued through the tunnel. He saw Cynder was waiting for him to start eating.

-"Hello!"- Greeted Cynder. -"Guess what? This place just keeps getting more and more weird."- She said slightly lifting her head to make Spyro look at something behind her.

-"Ancestors...!"- Exclaimed Spyro impressed when he saw what Cynder was trying to show him.

The end of the cave was kind of a circular room, where Cynder was standing, facing the entrance. Right behind her, there was a great rock with the colors of the rainbow on it, and just as transparent. Another tunnel could be seen on the other side, but the rock was too huge to just move it.

-"Is it a Crystal?"- Asked Spyro impressed by his partner's discovery.

-"Nope, I already tried to absorb it... You know, that would be a lot of power."- Replied Cynder.

-"I wonder what kind of things are hidden behind it..."- Said Spyro looking at the hidden path behind the weird rock.

-"Never mind, this valley must be filled with secrets... Maybe a... Treasure?"- Commented Cynder.

-"Yeah, right."- Laughed Spyro giving his last look. He turned around to face the exit. -"Hey, Cynder. I'll be back with some wood, you take care of that one for me. Don't eat it!"- He said before leaving the cave.

As soon as Spyro went outside, he rushed to get to the nearest tree and spent about twenty minutes swiftly cutting the branches that would burn easier and longer. With lots of branches and a few pieces of the trunk, he was able to be back at the cave when it was already getting dark outside. Spyro was surprised to see Cynder hadn't even tasted her prey.

-"Hey there."- Said Spyro as he dropped the wood in the exact middle of the chamber. -"Is there anything wrong?"- He asked.

-"No. I just thought it would be nice to eat together."- Answered Cynder smiling.

-"Well here I am!"- He said happily before breathing some fire on the wood, which got instantly lit.

-"Nice."- Answered Cynder laughing. She waited for Spyro to seat by her side and started eating. Spyro did the same thing.

-"Ok, is there anything special you wanted to talk about?"- Asked Spyro looking deep into her eyes.

-"Well, I..."- Started Cynder, looking doubtful. -"No... Not really."- She said.

-"Alright then."- Said Spyro before giving the sheep a huge bite on the side, tasting the fresh blood.

-"It is just... That it has been a while since the last time it was only you and me, as peaceful as now."- Said Cynder, nostalgic.

-"Yeah, I know. And it seems far away from getting easier."- Replied Spyro.

-"Weren't you supposed to make me feel better?"- Laughed Cynder. -"But now, seriously. When it is finally over, I'll make sure this happens more often."-

-"And I will always be there to be your company."- Said Spyro smiling. Cynder was just about to finish her sheep that far. He also gave his last bites.

-"Thank you, Spyro."- Answered Cynder, blushing a little. Aware of that, Spyro tried not to make her feel uncomfortable. It was about time to give his good night.

-"Ok then... It is time for us to go sleep now."- Said Spyro giving one step on the other side of the fire. -"I get the feeling tomorrow will be a long day."- Cynder spoke just before he could get laid.

-"Oh, come on! Come here! I won't bite, I promise."- She said as she pushed the few remains of her dinner towards the cave's tunnel. She gave a few steps closer to the fire and got laid curling her body. She made a gesture inviting Spyro by her side.

After leaving his trash on the entrance too, Spyro got next to her and laid down just as Cynder. -"Good night, Cynder"- He said before closing his eyes.

Spyro felt Cynder got closer to him and pressed her body against his, he felt her have a deep breath before whispering, half asleep.-"Now it is all perfect."-

He got surprised and a bit embarrassed by Cynder's sudden and clear show of affection. It seemed like Kate's presence did affect her a lot. Thoughtful, Spyro slowly fell asleep...

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><p>.<p>

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><p>The sun was a few minutes away from rising in the horizon, but Kate was already awake. She was staring at a huge, red gate. With the Ice Guardian as her company. Good luck for her, she slept early, so the time was not a problem at all. The Ice Guardian looked down at her.<p>

-"See why we wanted you to sleep early? Training starts as soon as possible."- Said Cyril with a smile. -"Ok, the Training Ground here is kind of different from what we had back in the Dragon Temple. Since it was turned to Malefor's Lair, and then destroyed... Guess this one will have to do."- Cyril slightly scratched the gate with his sharp, ice cold claws. -"Are you ready?"-

-"You can bet... Lets do this!"- Answered Kate feeling really energetic, her heart beats got faster from excitement.

-"So be it."- Said Cyril before pushing the gate to get it opened.

At the other side of the entrance, Kate saw a large, circular room where Cyril was inviting her to get in. It was made out of bricks with the same color of the sand, there were some open spots in a line that crossed the whole room, but the gate, at the same height. The roof was the highest she had seen in the facility, Kate just thought it was to practice flight or something like that. The red door slowly closed behind her. Kate turned back to face the Ice Guardian.

-"Nervous?"- Asked Cyril.

-"A little... When does it start?"- Said Kate as an answer.

-"As soon as you are ready."- Replied Cyril. -"You just get to that circle in the floor, in the middle of the room, and tell me when we should begin."- He continued as he stepped aside in a extreme of the room, which Kate assumed, was like a safe spot.

-"Ok..."- Said Kate as she started to advance, unwilling to wait any longer. She stepped in the circle and faced Cyril. -"Lets just do it."-

-"Right... Ok, the first test is about reflexes. Balls of weak energy will be shot at you from directions all around you. Your job is simple, dodge."- Informed Cyril, Kate was about to reply but he didn't allow it, he stomped on the ground and a green ball of energy hit her body by her side. Kate tripped and fell down on the floor, yet, the energy was weak, so she immediately stood up just a little shocked. -"Focus! This is no time to talk right now Kate!"-

Another power was shot from the exact same direction, ready this time, Kate gave a quick strafe to her right, evading the hit. Another attack was shot at her from behind, noticing it, Kate rolled on the floor going back to her initial position. Kate took off to fly but there were openings in the surface there too. Three attack were shot as a "Y" towards her, so almost immediately after taking off she landed smoothly on the ground, in nearly no time at all, four attacks came at her from both her sides so she made a quick jump in order to evade those. Kate hadn't noticed that at the same time, another one had been shot from the roof, this fifth attack came down in a diagonal line and hit Kate on her left ribs while she was still airborne. The impact made her fall and roll down on the floor. She quickly stood up but the attacks ceased to come. She heard the Ice Guardian speak in the distance.

-"You would be death in a real battle."- Said Cyril. His voice's sound was a little mean.

-"(So it is beginning... Sorry Cyril...) I think it was good for a beginning..."- Said Kate catching her breath. She could nearly not believe those had been only two minutes of training.

-"Indeed."- Replied the guardian. -"But we don't want anything like your other battle wound to ever happen again. Ready to continue?"-

For a few seconds, Kate remembered her fight back on the field where she met Spyro. She remembered feeling a suffocating pain in her body, and watching a knife was dug on her left side... She remembered feeling weak, and remembered her sight fade to blackness... -"Ready!"-She said. Decided no to let that happen once more.

Cyril stomped once more and a power was shot towards Kate just like before, this time she evaded and rushed her mind to remember where did the second attack come from last time. Once she remembered, she quickly moved aside and faced that direction, but she was surprised when an attack was shot from another direction really close to her. Without any time for Kate to react, the attack hit her head making her tripp and feel a little dizzy. The attacks ceased to come once more.

-"What was that?"- Asked Kate, surprised.

-"Battles are not a routine, Kate!"- Answered Cyril with a laughing, slightly upset tone. -"Always be ready!"-

-"Alright..."- Said Kate before sharpening her senses. -"Lets continue."- She requested before paying her full attention to the surroundings.

Like that, Kate continued to train for about two more hours, learning how to focus on her surroundings, how to feel incoming attacks, she also deflected a few attacks with her powers. Even thought that, she was only able to complete one full session, the last one.

-"I notice that you have a problem to focus. We will continue to work on this exercise after lunch..."- Mentioned Cyril. He then gave a slight roar and Kate noticed some spots on the floor started to glow. -"This exercise is for combat, show me what you can do before I teach you some techniques!"- From the spots in the floor a few creatures started to materialize, five of them. They were short even thought they moved with two legs, their body was short and round with thin arms and legs. Each one was holding a spear. -"Say hello to the Dojo Dummies!"-

-"Oh boy..."- Whispered Kate before the Dummies charged against her.

She stepped aside just on time before being hit with the spear's side, before she could notice, another Dojo Dummy was about to hit her, with a quick move, Kate used her wing to disarm the attacker. The spear flew a few meters in the air, but before it could even land, Kate attacked the Dummy with her claws and sent him flying in the air with her powers. The foe fell down, unconscious, and then disappeared.

-"That was a nice move!"- Mentioned Cyril, surprised.

-"Thanks! I totally went on instinct there...! Whoa!"- Kate was interrupted by a hit on her side. Before she could get another attack, she quickly rolled and stood up. Cyril had been right, training was not the moment to talk. So what she did next was to completely focus on her opponents.

For three more hours Kate continued to fight the Dojo Dummies. Raising her awareness about the foes around her. She learned a few basic offensive melee attacks, but Cyril's focus was meant to be more the defensive, so he made sure Kate worked hard on those.

After training all the morning long in a few minor exercises more, Kate found herself exhausted. She sat down beside the entrance gate to catch her breath for a while and noticed Cyril walking towards her.

-"Uff... Don't worry I'll be right back... Just give me a sec..."- Started Kate, but Cyril didn't allow her to finish.

-"Don't worry, Kate."- Said Cyril with a smile. -"We are done for the morning."-

-"Really? Great! How do you think I did?"- Asked Kate.

-"It could have been better..."- Answered Cyril in a hardly noticeable upset tone. He heard his own voice and rushed to fix his comment so that Kate wouldn't feel bad, but she did notice. -"But it was really good for your first training!"-

-"Yeah, I bet it was."- Replied Kate trying to forget what she just heard.

-"Are you hungry?"- Asked Cyril as he opened the red gate in order to go outside of the Training Room.

-"Starving!"- Answered Kate before standing up with a quick jump.

-"Ok, lets get you something to eat then. After that, you can take a quick nap before proceeding with the training. There is a tough part of it coming next. Ok?"-

-"Sure."- Said Kate, wondering what kind of challenge would the training be holding next.

She then followed the Ice Guardian's lead outside, heading towards the Kitchen where Ariana would probably have something delicious waiting for them...

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><p>In the sunny afternoon, Spyro and Cynder were happily flying towards their destination. None of them had spoken a word about what had happened last night. After having crossed the valley, both the dragons could see the entrance to a underground tunnel just about 50 meters away. They arrived at the tunnel and landed, proceeding to walk the rest of the path, after about 1 kilometer of walking straight and down through, they reached a specially big chamber. The darkness could be slightly felt in the atmosphere.<p>

There was a great metallic door in the wall, some sort of window carved in the wall beside it allowed the dragons to see what was on the other side. Right behind the door there was a dark castle, all made out of rock. It was inside of a chamber with the height enough for the castle to have two towers of about 20 meters tall and a central one of about 40 meters tall. All the castle was also surrounded by a wall which seemed to have several chambers inside.

-"Guess this is the place..."- Said Spyro, feeling nervous about the scenery around him.

-"It looks abandoned if you ask me."- Replied Cynder, really confident.

-"So what...? We just go knock at the door?"- Joked Spyro to feel a little relieved of his stress.

-"Yeah right!"- Laughed Cynder. -"Ha ha ha!"-

Spyro stepped in front of the door. -"Hey! We want to get in! It is me Spyro!"- He yelled as a joke.

-"Oh! Oh! And Cynder comes with him!"- Continued Cynder, laughing.

Both the dragons laughed for a few seconds before hearing a slight sound on the other side of the door, surprised, they both approached it slowly. Cynder hugged Spyro, a little nervous when the door opened with a slight move, but there was no one in the other side. Embarrassed, she rushed to get separated after taking a quick look inside.

-"I guess that means we can go inside."- Said Spyro, still surprised.

-"Y... Yeah..."- Replied Cynder giving a deep breath to calm down.

-"It will be ok."- Said Spyro giving her a encouraging look. -"Remember? Together, we can do this... Lets go."-

Cynder immediately felt the confidence come back at her. Watching the shadow that rose above them in the form of a castle made of rock, they both stepped inside the other side of the door. Following a path lightly lit by torches, towards the entrance to the facility...

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><p>AN: Ok, hope you liked it. If you want to know some stuff about me lately, carry on to read this A/N.

Ok, for the first thing, I've recently joined Sierra strike as partners, I'm happy to give a helping hand with his story for another topic, so I won't mention it here. For more details check out my profile.

And for what comes to this FanFic. I'm not planing to cancel it until I'm done, but I have such a long story yet to go... Let me tell you, chapters may take a while to come because my motivation is not specifically high right now. I mean, when I first posted this FanFic I was excited, and proceeding to write it as fast as I could because of one only thing. My reviewers.  
>Since I haven't been having lots of reviews for my latest chapters, I am sad to tell you that I'm feeling a little discouraged right now. And that is why, for those of you who DO enjoy the story, I'm warning, next chapters may take a while.<p>

Please, it wouldn't harm anybody if you took your time to Read & Review.

thanks.

- Fenrir


	9. Magnus

After quite a long wait... Fenrir Connell is proud to present *Dramatic Pause*... Chapter 9! Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 9: Magnus<p>

Every step closer to the castle's entrance seemed to make the atmosphere be heavier. In a way that when both the young purple dragon and the black dragoness stood right in front of it, they could feel darkness closing around their bodies. With tension in the air, they both gave a step inside of the facility.

Spyro found himself walking in a corridor with a round roof like a tunnel. Where some symbols he had never seen before were painted in the whole wall like tattoos. Most of those ended up with a spike or an arrow, but he decided not to give too much importance to those. As he continued to walk with Cynder by his side, he started to sight the tunnel's ending. Just a few steps later he entered a hall which had a large dinning table right in the middle.

-"Now this looks like a comfortable place to eat."- Commented Spyro as he looked to some dishes that were left there. Those had remains of meat from some animal that had been eaten not too long ago. -"I think this discards the option that the castle is inhabited."-

-"Bad for us... Do you think this has anything to do with those dreams of yours?"- Asked Cynder.

-"Most likely..."- Started Spyro. -"That is a curious thing about this table..."- He said while pointing at what seemed to be a button right in the middle of the table.

-"Lets see if it does anything!"- Said Cynder as she have a step towards the button.

Spyro suddenly heard a unknown voice inside of his head just when Cynder had her claw going down on the button: ("No! Don't touch that thing...!") Cynder pressed the button with her claw. ("Too bad... Get down!"). Not knowing whose voice was communicating with him, he decided to obey.

-"Cynder, get down!"- Shouted Spyro ducking. He saw Cynder do the same on the other side.

A slight clicking sound was heard and then, a huge, circular razor flew rapidly from one side to another of the hall. It sliced the dishes and candles that were placed in all the table. And quickly went back to its place. A really thin gap on one of the walls. It could hardly be looked with the naked eye. So he wasn't surprised that not him or Cynder had noticed it before.

They both stood up after a few seconds to confirm there was no more danger. They took a surprised look at all the stuff on the table, which had been sliced perfectly leaving pieces of dishes and candles everywhere. Yet, the table was left intact.

-"Oh... Ancestors!"- Said Spyro with his eyes wide open. He was greatly impressed but relieved at the same time.

-"What the hell was that? And how did you know...?"- Said Cynder.

-"Some voice in my mind..."- Spyro was interrupted once more by the same voice. ("A group of five goes towards you."). Surprised, Spyro rushed to warn Cynder about it. -"Prepare to fight."-

-"How comes you...?"-

-"Shhh!"- Spyro ducked once more to hide under the table. Cynder did the same, but this time she crawled her way under the table to Spyro's side and ducked really close to him.

After just about five seconds, a small group of the same creatures that attacked back at the place where Spyro woke up came from a corridor that was on the left side of the hall. Each one of them held a spear and seemed to be watching guard around. It didn't take too long before they entered the hall where the two dragons were.

-"We need to sort them out."- Said Spyro.

-"Swiftly, quiet..."-

-"And carefully. If one of them escapes, he could warn others..."- Thought Spyro out loud. In a whisper, of course.

-"Fine, to your signal."- Said Cynder preparing to spring up in the opportune moment. Spyro decided to wait a little more until the enemies were closer, the couldn't afford to let one escape alive.

-"Now!"- Shouted Spyro as he jumped outside of his hideout. He quickly placed himself behind the enemy formation, where three of them were. The enemies quickly tried to escape tuning to the other direction, but Cynder was already waiting for them.

As soon as the foes turned away from Spyro, Cynder used a Siren Scream in order to temporarily stun them. With a swift move of his tail, Spyro hit the enemies' foot and dropped the three of them on the floor. Which, like everything else, was made of rock. Meanwhile, Cynder used her Shadow Sneak and hit the two monsters of her side from down making them fly on the air. She was able to stab the stomach of one before it landed with her Tail Blade, and open a huge wound that started bleeding and would eventually kill it, that one was not a problem anymore. Right before one could stand up, Spyro stomped its throat with strength, producing a loud cracking sound. The monster coughed blood and made weak, throaty sounds before dropping death, with blood flowing from its mouth.

While two flashes of light shined on the floor leaving only Crystals from their enemies, one of the fallen ones swung its spear and hit Cynder's left side. She quickly rolled to that side to prevent from being hit again, meanwhile, Spyro also avoided an attack. Not much time happened before the three remaining enemies were back on their feet and ready to fight back.

Spyro noticed one of the enemies was about to scream for help, so he rushed to shoot a Earth Missile to its stomach to leave the enemy breathless. On the other side, Cynder tried to use her Tail Blade once more, but the enemy deflected her Tail Swing with its spear. Right before it could attack her with a hit from the spear, Spyro shot a electric beam towards the monster, paralyzing it. Cynder used that moment to scratch its neck with her claws and tackle the foe with her body. When it reached the other side because of the tackle, Spyro dug his claws on its belly and scratched all the way up, before finishing it with a small Flame Burst. The body just flashed and more Crystals were dropped.

One of the creatures made a quick move with the arms and tried to stab Spyro with a swift move. Always ready, Spyro deflected the spear's hit, deviating it and making the monster stab its own partner's stomach. The monster that had just caught its breath found a spear dug into its stomach. He couldn't do anything before Cynder hung herself of the spear and suddenly turned it to inflict pain. The other monster tried to punch Spyro, but he was faster and shot Ice Shards in order to make it slow. Making use of those extra seconds, he shot a fully loaded Earth Missile to the enemy that had the spear on its belly, producing the spear to dig even deeper. Cynder finished it stabbing its lungs and neck with her Tail Blade.

Just as the other monster's body flashed and disappeared to leave only Crystals, the only enemy left gained its speed back. While Spyro was turning around to finish it, the monster held Spyro's left wing and quickly punched his muzzle's left side and his chest at the same time, leaving him breathless. Right before the monster could strike once more, Cynder jumped towards it and dug her claws on its neck, which started to bleed. But she didn't reach the life vein, the monster dropped her on the floor. Before it could attack, Spyro, still trying to catch his breath, used his claws to hit and distract it from Cynder. The foe turned around and Cynder instantly got up and burnt the foe with her Shadow Fire. The enemy, still on its feet ran towards Spyro to try to inflict more damage, but Spyro stopped it with a electric beam and shot a normal Flame Burst towards it, making the monster fall on the ground and die after a short while.

-"Ok... That went out really well."- Said Cynder dropping her guard, while the enemy's body shined and left even more Crystals on the floor.

-"Y... Yeah... I... I guess..."- Said Spyro, still breathless.

-"Oh my... Sorry Spyro!"- Said Cynder worried.

-"I... Is... Sss... O... Ok..."- Replied Spyro closing his eyes, trying to catch some air...

-"No! Please, don't speak. Here, sit down."- She recommended while also slightly pushing his Lower Back down with her Front Right Feet.

Spyro sat down on the floor and tried to take a deep breath twice, failing. He managed to take a refreshing breath at the third time. Getting his breath once more, he rushed to stand up. -"Uff... Thank you Cynder. Yeah, we make a good team."-

-"Sure. Now if you are feeling better, I suggest going the way those came from."- Commented Cynder.

-"Yes, but how about getting rid of these first?"- He said as he pointed to the huge bunch of Red and Green Crystals on the ground, which had a little blood on and under. -"Fifty, fifty."-

-"Fair enough."- Replied Cynder before drawing strength from half the Crystals. Spyro continued to finish with the ones left, feeling recovered from the battle.

-"Now we are ready to leave."- He said with a smile. The immediate next thing he did was to walk through the gate the small group of enemies came from. With Cynder following him closely.

They continued to walk along for a few more meters, but before getting anywhere, Cynder's voice suddenly called Spyro's attention, she was whispering something to herself.

-"What?"- Said Cynder, possibly speaking with herself. Since Cynder seemed to be lost in thought, Spyro decided not to pay more attention and keep following the trail. After a few more walking they reached a room.

The room both dragons had just entered had a not too high roof, and they saw they were in some sort of Labyrinth. The only way they could take was a turn to the right, and after following it for a few steps they found that the way was split in two. ("Left.").

-"Huh... Fine, left I guess."- Said Spyro, Cynder took the first step to the left and saw they had to follow a trail which had many openings in both sides.

-"Ok, now what?"- Asked Cynder, mocking of the fact that Spyro seemed to know everything before it happened.

-"I think we should keep moving front... (Until I hear something again...)"- Said Spyro. ("So you want to hear more often?"). -"Who the hell are you? Get out of my head!"-.

-"Has he been speaking to you too?"- Asked Cynder surprised, as she began to walk following the path, they took none of the openings to turn.

-"Yeah, what a stubborn!"- Complained Spyro, starting to follow her lead.

-"Hey, it seems like he is helping."- Mentioned Cynder.

("She's got her point... There is a monster left and one on the right, wait there.") Spyro was really starting to get tired of having someone on his head, but who was communicating with him? How? Could he read Spyro's thoughts and memories? Mainly, that was what made him uncomfortable, it was true that the voice was helpful. ("Don't worry, I haven't and won't touch the memory.") -"Please, try not to speak unless is really necessary. Cynder, there are..."-

-"I know, he told me too."- Rushed to say Cynder without any second thoughts.

-"Fine..."- Said Spyro while raising his guard and preparing for combat. A few second passed before both dragons sighted a shining light from a torch in both the hallways.

Spyro quickly ran into the opening of the wall and saw the enemy going his way. Before the enemy could react to his presence, Spyro took its breath away with a punch to its stomach. He then made it fall on the ground with a swift slash of his tail and once there, Spyro shot two fully charged Earth Missiles towards its stomach and head. Knocking him out. Spyro finished the foe by digging his front claws on its belly and throat. The body started bleeding for a while, until it finally flashed and left Crystals all over the floor.

On the other side, Cynder entered the other opening and, waiting no time, she used a Siren Scream to stun the enemy on the way. A little slowly, the enemy managed to land a weak hit with its spear on Cynder's right side, not achieving any major damage. Cynder stabbed the foe's legs with her Tail Blade and made it fall on its knees, bleeding. Cynder then shot a Poisonous Energy Ball, making the enemy fall on its back, surrendering. Cynder felt a little compassion flow through her mind for a few seconds, but she knew she couldn't let it live and warn others... Before any second thoughts could invade her, she lifted the enemy's spear from the floor and dug it on its neck. Killing it after a few seconds. Cynder waited until she could draw energy from the Crystals left behind. And then she turned back to regroup with Spyro.

Once back at the hallway where they were before attacking, they stayed quiet and still for a few seconds, with the thought of a possible second attack on their mind.

-"Cynder, you alright?"- Asked Spyro with concern.

-"Don't worry, Spyro. I'm Ok."- Replied Cynder with a smile and a comforting, calm tone.

-"Ok... Now what?"- Asked Spyro, raising his voice out loud.

("Don't do that. Others might hear you. Look at the roof below you, there must be a gap. Shoot an Earth Missile at it and a secret tunnel shall be revealed, that way you won't have to get lost in the labyrinth.")

Spyro slightly raised his sight to watch at the ceiling. In fact, he saw a really small gap in the stone. Some sort of weak light seemed to be coming from the other side. Spyro quickly shot an Earth Missile towards it and leant down his head to avoid the falling rubble. Cynder did the same, after a short time, they raised their heads again and saw a big opening on the ceiling. It was big, but they had to enter one by one, also, getting inside would be a little tricky, since the hole was not that big.

Spyro flew towards the hole and entered his head. In fact, there was a tunnel that could easily be followed for a distance he was unable to measure. They would have to crawl their way until they reached the place to get out. Spyro pressed his wings against his body tightly and contacted his body as small as he could, after fighting with the hole's edges and struggling for a while, he was finally able to enter.

Once inside, Spyro was able to turn around easily. The tunnel was not tall enough for him to stand up, but it was wide enough for him to turn around. He slightly showed his face through the hole.

-"Ok Cynder! Is all clear, lets see where this will lead us."- Said Spyro while making a gesture with his head, for Cynder to go up there.

-"Great."- Replied Cynder as she took off. With great agility she grabbed the ledge and got some impulse from her wings. With almost no effort at all she passed through the opening in the stone and stood behind Spyro, who was crawling into the tunnel to make some space for Cynder to get inside.

-"Was that all?"- Asked Spyro with surprise, looking at Cynder's eyes.

-"Well, yes! Our size difference turned out to be helpful... For me."- Giggled Cynder.

-"You are not that smaller, you know..."- Argued Spyro with a smile.

-"Looks like I'm smaller enough to fit there."- She replied happily.

-"Ok, no need to argue."- Said Spyro, while turning around to face the tunnel's darkness once more. -"There is no other way than straight from here... I guess we will be notified when we have to stop."- ("Sure you will.")

Spyro started to crawl his way through the tunnel, trying his hardest to prevent a painful friction between his wings and the roof. It was uncomfortable for both the dragons to walk while ducking so low, their bellies touched the cold and hard stone under their feet. And also, sometimes Spyro moved his head down because of some dust that happened to occasionally enter his eyes, slowing down their advance. Cynder followed him closely.

After what seemed to be around 100 slow meters of straight advancing. They found a split in their way, three different directions could be taken, but it didn't take too long before Spyro could hear the mysterious voice in his head. ("There are dangerous monsters, as small as bugs around here. They are coming from the right path, but a Flame Burst should be enough for you to kill them. Once you breath some fire on that path, take the left one, and advance until I tell you to stop.")

-"Okay... Cynder, stand back."- Informed Spyro before taking a deep breath.

Cynder gave a step back with surprise reflected on her face's expression. -"Wait... What are you going to...? Whoa!"- Cynder couldn't finish with her argument before Spyro's Fire Breath lighted the whole place around them. Cynder felt for a few seconds a intense heat as the flames traveled through the path on their right, and then it all stopped.

The dragons heard something screeching in pain and desperation deep into the right tunnel. As suddenly as the noise started, it faded away to leave everything silent once more. Spyro waited a few uncomfortable seconds of silence before continuing to crawl through way on their left.

-"Creeeepy..."- Laughed Cynder, faking shivers.

-"So funny, Cynder."- Replied Spyro, serious.

-"Oh... Come on! What is that mood for?"- Asked Cynder.

-"I'm sorry Cynder..."- Apologized Spyro, changing his tone. -"Is just that with this guy on my head I don't feel too comfortable. And now it is more than proven that there is something evil in here... Also, I'm concerned about my memory, will it completely be back someday?"-

-"(I hope it does soon...) Cheer up! Sure it will! Besides, yes, there may be something here. But I think it should be nothing we can't handle. And we got to spend time together. Also, if he tried to look into your memory there is not too much he could find."- Said Cynder with a smile.

-"Yeah... Is just I'm stressed with all this stuff. Also, don't you think it would be better to spend that time together in a... Picnic or something?"- Said Spyro noticing how far they had crawled. Probably a little more than in the last tunnel.

-"(I'd love to, Spyro...) We will finish this."- She assured with confidence. All suddenly, Spyro noticed how Cynder's tone changed, to become a little more aggressive. -"So how long are we going to continue straight like this?"-

-"It should be over soon, now we have crawled more than what we have walked on this damned castle."- Laughed Spyro, Cynder giggled silently as a reply.

After a short while more, Spyro saw a small gap on the floor in front of him. His thoughts were confirmed true when the voice appeared inside of him once more. ("You will have to go down through there. And I'm afraid I won't be able to help you anymore. Blast it and get in.")

Spyro shot an Earth Missile towards the gap, which instantly got broken. Surprisingly for him, the ground under his feet continued to break more than he had expected, bigger gaps were formed under both the dragons' feet. Before Spyro or Cynder had any time to react, the tunnel's floor broke apart. And both dragons fell down.

Unfortunately, the height was not enough for the dragons to regain their their balance and fly to the ground. They fell painfully on the ground, lifting a cloud of dust and making a slight sound. Cynder trembled a little in pain while standing up, she had landed on her left side and struggled for a few seconds to get air. Spyro, had landed on his back, causing him pain on his wings, nothing he couldn't stand. They both stood up, but before they could do anything else, a sound called their attention. They heard a deep breath and a soft roar right behind them.

The dragons made a quick move to turn around and watch behind them. The room was too dark to look too far away, but there was a darker spot. Which was getting bigger, and bigger...

-"Cynder, look out! Strafe!"- Shouted Spyro, while giving a quick jump towards his left. He rolled on the floor and quickly stood up, raising his guard. He saw Cynder was able to evade just in time. A dark ball of energy flew at high speed, whistling as it crossed its way through the middle of the dragons.

-"Phew... What was that?"- Asked Cynder while looking towards the spot where the attack came from. The dragons heard a small explosion when the attack hit a wall, making rubble fall on the ground. Suddenly, a soft, deep voice spoke in the dark, its sound was like a silent roar...

-"Good to see you arrived so soon..."- The voice let out a small, mysterious laugh. -"I had expected you to take more time... But I think is better this way. Don't you? It is better not to keep your host waiting, after all..."- Spyro cringed a bit, listening the voice from his nightmares right there, in the room with him...

-"You!"- Yelled Spyro to the dark. Suddenly, another attack was heading towards him, he flew to his left side, but hit a wall that had been there, invisible in the dark. The dark Energy Ball hit his leg, causing him pain. -"Ah... Sh... Show yourself!"-

-"Exited to meet your host? Spyro the dragon?"- Laughed the voice.

Cynder ran over to Spyro's side side and helped him get up on his feet. She stared around for a while, unable to see anything. -"Spyro! Are you alright?"-

-"Sure, Cynder."- He replied, gently getting her claw off his right shoulder. -"It was nothing."-

-"Is this the voice you've been hearing in your sleep?"- Asked Cynder, worried and looking around once more.

-"Yes... This is the guy we are looking for."- Said Spyro while raising his guard and sharpening his senses, in case another attack was shot to them. Cynder followed him. But before any of them could say anything, they heard the sound of a torch lighting in the distance that called their attention.

Suddenly, another torch got lit. Looking around, Spyro saw that on the other side of the room there was light, fire burning.

Another torch got lit… Spyro could notice he was standing in a circular room, there was something on the floor right next to him and Cynder. A black dragon claw that had Spyro's head size...

Another torch got lit... The last light came from above Spyro's head, making him raise his sight in surprise. He did it just in time to notice another huge dragon claw falling towards his head.

Spyro quickly kicked the wall on his left to get out of the way with some impulse, he tackled Cynder while doing it, so that she would step aside too. Spyro heard the sound of the claw hardly hitting the floor beside him. Cynder turned to look at him, shocked.

-"Whoa... A little rough, don't you think?"- Said Cynder sarcastically. But Spyro was no longer paying attention to her words, he was just looking at the enormous dragon standing in front of him with a evil smile on his face.

One last fire got lit, this time in a lamp placed high on the roof. The light was so bright that Spyro could not believe he was in the same dark room as before. Both Spyro and Cynder just stared at the dragon in front of them for a few seconds. Finally able to watch him in detail with the light.

There, in front of them was standing a big, full grown, black dragon. Even darker than Cynder. His underbelly had a slightly clearer gray color. His wings, gray also, were clearer. He had sharp and deathly claws, and spikes on his front elbows. Two horns similar to Spyro's, just more sharp and a little more straight. And spikes that started on his neck and ended on his lower back, becoming smaller as they reached that zone. He had little scars all over his body, specially on his front legs and chest. Some of which still had blood and seemed to have just a few days long. And two Silver bracers on his front legs.

Before Spyro had any time to notice anything else, the unknown dragon charged against him and Cynder, trying to tackle them. Cynder hid underground with her Shadow powers to avoid the charge, and jumped outside as soon as the other dragon was over her. Making what seemed to be just a little damage, but ended landing unharmed on the ground. On the meantime, Spyro quickly jumped to his right in order to avoid being hit. Once the dragon had passed him, he turned around with a swift move and shot some Ice Shards to slow down his aggressor. It did work for half a second, but the dragon regained his speed in nearly no time at all. He stopped his charge and turned around to face Spyro and Cynder. A slight and evil smile was drawn in his face.

-"Who are you?"- Demanded Spyro loudly.

The dragon let out a silent laugh before speaking. -"The name is Magnus. And I've had enough of fooling around!"- Replied the dragon with a mean tone. A door started to appear with a shadow cloud by his side, while his brown eyes sparkled red in some spots. -"I've got preparations to make in order to bring the master back."-

-"Malefor?"- Exclaimed Cynder in surprise.

The dragon's eyes stopped to sparkle red as the door finished to materialize.-"Yes, and I've quite wasted enough time with you, annoying youngsters!"- He said with a smile, while turning to face the door. -"My right hand will dispose of you now."- He said as he entered the door, closing it behind him and leaving Spyro and Cynder alone in the circular room. Where no other door could be spotted.

-"Wait!"- Shouted Spyro as he charged against the door. He tried to take it down with a tackle, but he was shocked... -"Ah!"- Literally. Electricity flowed through his body, leaving him shaking on the ground. Cynder ran by his side.

-"Spyro! Hold it, I'll try."- She said determined. Spyro saw how she was about to touch the door, so he stopped her.

-"D d d don't touch that!"- He said holding his eyes shut.

-"But Spyro! He will get awa..."- Claimed Cynder, not finishing her observation.

-"H h h he won't."- Said Spyro, pointing towards the opening in the roof for Cynder to see. -"One of the ways will lead us t t to him. Now please... Gi... Give me a second."-

Said that, Spyro used his own electricity to counter the one from the door. After a short while of focusing his powers, he was able to get back to normal in almost no time at all. He was just a little tired when he stood up back on his feet. He stared at the door for a few time, but after a little, it vanished and disappeared. Twice as fast as it appeared.

-"Looks like we are kind of stuck now..."- Commented Spyro looking around.

-"As long as we stay here, yeah. We should try the tunnel now, before he gets time to do anything."- Replied Cynder with concern.

-"Yes, you got it."- Said Spyro before taking off quickly. Cynder followed him closely, but surprisingly, in a few seconds all the dust and rubble spread through the ground floated in the air and got stuck back on its place at the roof, becoming solid and sealing the room. Spyro noticed the event just in time to stop, but Cynder behind him didn't. She continued to fly and crashed painfully against the ceiling. She fell, but a quick reaction and wing flapping prevented her from hitting the ground. The dragons landed right a few steps away from the room's center.

-"Oh... Ok, now what?"- Yelled Cynder. But her answer didn't wait too long to show up.

With a sudden, electric sound, a door appeared on a side of the room. Spyro and Cynder just watched as it materialized in front of them, once it was complete, it opened with a strike, and Spyro recognized more of the monsters from the valley on the other side. They raised their guards for battle. And so did the dragons.

The monsters started to march inside of the room in a very organized two-column row. Two... Four... Six... After a short while, all ten monsters were inside. And as soon as they were all in, the door vanished. They started to form a perfect circle around the dragons, each one of them holding a spear. Spyro had simply watched enough

-"Come on, Cynder! Don't let them surround you!"- Sword Spyro as he ran towards the foe that was closer to him. Cynder went behind him.

Before the monster could counter their quick reaction, Spyro reached its side and used a sweep from his tail to make it fall on the ground. He didn't bother to attempt doing other move, Cynder performed a jump from a few meters away from the monster's back. While airborne, she passed over its head and dug her deathly claws on the neck, cutting the skin as she passed by. And once landed, she faced the enemy and broke its neck with a strong move. The foe dropped death, bleeding.

Instantly, all the other monsters aimed the spears towards the dragons and charged. Spyro looked at Cynder and gave her a sign with his front left feet, telling her to take off. Both dragons flapped their wings and flew just in time to avoid the collision. Most of the monsters stopped on time, but three couldn't stop and crashed in a group. One was left unharmed, one was left with a spear dug on its hip, which slowed it down and caused pain... And one had a spear dug into its eye and going out through the back of the head, dead.

Cynder landed on a open spot and quickly used her Wind powers to elevate the monsters inside of a small tornado. She held them all together in a group and Spyro flew around them while breathing fire towards the group. Cynder let them all down when she noticed each one had at least caught a small flame. Once in the ground, two more monsters didn't move anymore. One of them had a spear on the hip.

The remaining ones stood up and gazed towards Cynder, but before they could get too separated to attack, Spyro landed swiftly by her side and shot an Electric Beam to the closer one. The electricity was drawn towards the others and after just one second they were unable to move. Spyro kept holding the electricity while he watched Cynder become a shadow on the floor, a shadow that advanced until it reached a spot in the center of the monster group. Once there, Cynder jumped outside with a burst of darkness. The whole group was broken and spread all over the room's floor.

Spyro held one of the spears from the floor on his mouth and rushed to to stab a monster's neck before it could stand up. On the other side, Cynder had just dug her Tail Blade on a throat and opened all the skin up to the chin. Spyro sighted another enemy trying to get up on its feet, he used a Comet Dash and hit the enemy right in the chest. The monster flew towards the nearest wall and hit it with amazing strength. Just in case, Spyro waited until it fell on the ground to approach it and dig his claws on the life vein.

Two monsters were able to stand up, because one more got killed with a Poison Ball shot by Cynder just on time. The last two enemies got two spears from the ground and charged. Cynder jumped away on time, but Spyro was hit and sent meters away from the impact. Spyro caught strength and stood up while Cynder was already fighting the monsters. Spyro ran and tackled one, making it flinch and leaving Cynder with just the other to take care of. Relieved, Cynder stabbed her enemy's belly using her Tail Blade and hit its head with her claws while it was shocked. She finished it with a Throat Slit and went over to Spyro's side. But Spyro had just finished his own attacker with an Earth Missile. When the dragons had time to look around, they saw the room covered with Green and Red Crystals for them to recover their health and magic.

-"Fifty, fifty."- Said Cynder.

-"Fair enough."- Replied Spyro with a smile. He then proceeded to get his part of the Crystals and felt quite recovered. He watched Cynder do the same and after a few seconds they were again standing on the circular, empty room. There was no way out.

-"What are we supposed to do now?"- Asked Cynder looking around.

-"If that is all his right hand could do, from now on the rest should not be too hard."- Said Spyro with a smile. He stared at Cynder with confidence in his eyes. Suddenly, a voice echoed inside his head. ("That was not his right hand...").

A electric sound behind the dragons made them quickly raise their guards and turn around, just in time to see another door had just appeared. This door opened slowly as a dragon claw entered the room with no rush, it was about the size of Spyro's claw... Giving five steps forward, a dragon of about their same age entered, and the door vanished behind him.

The dragon had bull like horns, with the difference that they headed behind. He had black scales and a strong red wing membranes. His underbelly was red also, but a little lighter, and his eyes were a dark orange color. His tail blade was shaped like the tip of a spear, and very sharp just as its claws. Two very fine red stripes started on its elbows and ended in both his flanks, those didn't have more than half a centimeter wide. He had two silver bracers in his front legs, just like Magnus. The dragon gave one step forward and gave Spyro and Cynder a defying look.

The dragon spoke with a weak laugh. -"The honor, of being Magnus' right hand..."- Spyro shivered when he noticed... The voice that was speaking to him, the dragon's voice was like a evil whisper... But the worst of all, it was the same voice that had been speaking to him inside of his head... -"That honor belongs to me!"- He shouted before shooting a purple Energy Ball towards Spyro and Cynder.

-"Look out!"- Said Spyro as he performed a quick jump towards his side. Cynder did the same and stood out of the way. But, surprisingly for them, the purple Energy Orb moved in the air and caught a curve. Not leaving any time to react, the attack turned and hit Cynder in a side of her ribcase. She gave a cough and fell rolling on the floor. -"Cynder!"-

Spyro watched at Cynder as she struggled on the floor, surrounded with what seemed to be like purple electricity beams all over her body. He was able to see Cynder making her greatest effort to stand up, but even thought she used all her strength she could barely move. Spyro heard the dragon's voice in his head, without the need for the dragon to open his mouth. ("Now listen carefully and say nothing, Spyro. Unless you would like something to happen to dearest Cynder over there.").

The dragon smiled and performed a dash towards Spyro, Spyro jumped up just in time to avoid it, but the dragon lifted his Tail Blade and opened a wound on Spyro's leg as he passed by. Spyro landed just behind the dragon and shot Ice Shards towards him, but a dark barrier appeared around the dragon and deflected the ice. The dragon turned around and defiantly stared at Spyro.

-"It was a trap all this time!"- Yelled Spyro as his front left claw lighted in flames. Spyro ran towards the enemy.

Watching Spyro come, the other dragon just waited for the hit. With enough time to speak a few words. -"This whole castle is a trap, Spyro..."-.

Spyro reached out his enemy's position and punched with his Fire Claw, attack that the other dragon avoided by tilting his body a little. Right next, the dragon hit Spyro's extended fron right leg with his bracer and caused Spyro to fall on the ground. The enemy didn't make any other move after that.

Spyro could hear a electric sound and Cynder moaning in pain on the other side of the room. It seemed like if the energy that was holding her down had intensified. ("I told you not to speak! Or is it that you want me to kill Cynder? Whatever you need to say, do it in your mind from now on. Understood? Because, you see..."). The dragon then spoke out loud. -"This is no time to talk. One of us shall die here!"-.

Said that, the dragon ran and charged against Spyro, who used his wings to endure the hit. Spyro then landed a punch on the dragon's side. Quick and swiftly, the dragon turned on his body and stood few steps away from Spyro. ("There is a reason for you not to speak... We are being watched. Don't say anything about me being in your mind unless you want Cynder to suffer, and I promise she will.")

-"(Fine! But... Don't hurt her.) Who are you?"- Asked Spyro before avoiding with a jump another Energy Orb shot towards him.

-"Listen and remember this name, since it shall be the last you will know. I'm Shadow, Magnus' apprentice who will finish you!"- Said the dragon before trying another attack.

Shadow dashed against Spyro, who managed to jump side and evade just on time. But Shadow had noticed about that move before and quickly turned around really close to Spyro, cutting his leg with his Tail Blade and causing him to loose balance. Shadow tried to punch Spyro and drop him on the floor, but Spyro noticed that move and used a slash of his claw to deflect it, right next he dug his left claw on Shadow's shoulder. But he didn't get too deep before Shadow stepped back. ("Listen, I can help you.").

-"(And you expect me to believe it... You've already done enough!)"- Spyro rapidly charged against Shadow, but just when he reached his position, a dark barrier surrounded Shadow and made Spyro flinch on his harmed leg. Shadow used the opportunity and punched Spyro's leg, making him fall.

Shadow advanced towards Spyro and placed his claw on the purple dragon's neck. ("Right now, Magnus is watching our every move and word. The only place where I can speak to you safely is in your head.") -"I don't see how such a weak dragon managed to defeat The Dark Master... Just to die now, before he is reborn. What a pity!"- Shadow lifted his free front leg and aimed his claw down, in order to score the deathly hit.

-"No! S... Spyro!"- Shouted Cynder in pain on the other side of the room. Suddenly, with amazing strength, Cynder stood up and shook her body. Purple sparks flew around her and the electricity disappeared. Before both Spyro's and Shadow's astonished eyes, Cynder was fully recovered and on her feet.

Spyro made use of Shadow's distraction because of the event to shoot an Earth Missile direct to the stomach, making him flinch. Spyro stood up with a turn and prepared to attack, but Cynder turned out to be already on it. Shadow received just two hits from Cynder's claws before taking off. ("Spyro, I need to give you something, sorry about this.") Spyro watched how Shadow flew towards him at top speed and knocked him on the ground, leaving him breathless. He was holding something shiny on his front right claw.

-"Ah... Ngh..."- Complained Spyro trying to catch his breath. He extended his own claw to grab the object.

("Take it now, quick! Cynder is coming.") Spyro grabbed the object that felt like a small stone in his claw as Shadow dropped it with rush. Spyro then saw how Cynder tackled Shadow away from him and started trying to reach the neck with her Tail Blade with agile swings, but Shadow either avoided really fast or blocked the attempts with his wings. After another failed try from Cynder, Shadow dashed away from her and shot more Purple Orbs against her, but this time she was ready for any unexpected turns, so she was able to avoid all of them. Spyro stood up as fast as he could and ran to her side, raising his guard to face Shadow together.

-"Hold on, Cynder. We can do this. (What is this? Who are you?)"- Said Spyro while standing beside Cynder. Shadow glanced their way and let out a silent growl. After a few seconds Spyro could hear everything together, Cynder's hard and filled with rage breath, Shadow growling at them, but he could also hear his voice inside of him. ("There will be time for that... It is a pearl, that takes darkness away from its surroundings. Give that to the orange dragoness as soon as you arrive to Warfang and many of your problems shall be gone.").

Unable to wait any longer, Cynder shot two Poison Balls towards Shadow, who managed to evade one and bounce the other back to Cynder. Spyro pushed her away and the attack missed. Spyro then ran towards Shadow and started to attack with his claws, hitting some times and missing or being blocked others. He also tried to use his tail to make the enemy trip but Shadow moved his feet fast and strongly.

While fighting, Spyro could hear Shadow once more. ("There is a plan, Magnus is gathering energy, so he can't fight. I'm supposed to kill you, both.") Spyro felt a punch landing on his face while he was surprised for the just heard words, Cynder reached them and used a Siren Scream to make Shadow back off.

("There is the possibility that both of you are too strong, and overpower me.") A dark cloud surrounded Shadow's claws and he advanced to attack once more, to prevent the hit from landing, Spyro surrounded his body with a electric barrier. Watching that, Shadow changed his course and ran towards Cynder, who hid underground making the same move she had done to Magnus before.

She waited until Shadow was just above her and jumped out performing her attack. Shadow was hit and his own impulse caused him to trip over and fall. This time, it took a little longer for him to stand up, he was clearly getting tired. ("If that happened... Magnus would be unable to fight... So he would open a portal for me to flee. He would also flee to another hideout. That is were the tricky part comes.").

-"I'll make sure you stay down next time!"- Growled Cynder with rage.

-"(And what would that be?) We will, Cynder. Hold him down!"- Said Spyro while focusing his fire powers in order to attack.

Cynder immediately used her Wind powers to create a hurricane around Shadow. The force of the rushing air around pressed him in such a way he could barely move inside. ("As you'll be trapped in this room. Magnus will make the castle go down to crush you. But you've got the tunnel to escape death. This is the part where you two defeat me.") It was quite clear that Shadow was not doing his best to break free. Spyro released a blazing, powerful Fire Breath, which merged with Cynder's hurricane around Shadow.

-"Ah...!"- Shouted Shadow, it was clear that he was in pain. Even thought that, his voice's sound was kind of calm inside of Spyro ("You go back through the way you came. Once in the crossroad, take the way the bugs were coming from. You should finish in the exit right before you die. If you hurry.").

Spyro and Cynder approached the burning hurricane and Cynder destroyed it to Spyro's signal. Before Shadow had any time to react, Spyro punched his face and made him loose balance. Given the opportunity, Cynder made an uppercut with her claw, direct to Shadow's belly. Shadow coughed and fell on the ground, where Cynder shot a Poison Ball, and Spyro shot an Earth Missile to leave him there, defeated and weakened.

-"Even if I died now... You are already finished."- Laughed Shadow, while coughing on the floor. Suddenly, the whole place started to shake around them. ("It is happening").

-"(Why are you helping us?)What are you talking about?"- Shouted Spyro, demanding an answer, in both ways.

-"I've had enough of you! Its over!"- Yelled Cynder while lifting her sharp claws to kill Shadow. Just before getting the deathly hit, Shadow was able to roll aside on the floor and get up quite fast given his weak status. Cynder hit the ground and turned to face Shadow, with the walls shaking stronger. A sound like a roar could be heard as the castle trembled.

-"This whole place is going down... *Deep breath* And you are going with it!"- Announced Shadow. With a quiet electric sound, some sort of round portal appeared by Shadow's side. Its center was as black as it could be, a escape route. ("It is really important, for your own safety, that you hand the pearl to the orange dragoness. We will see each other again.").

-"(We can't reach the tunnel! It was somehow sealed!) Wait!"- Said Spyro as he started a Comet Dash to reach Shadow before he escaped. He went as fast as he could, and Shadow invaded his thoughts once more before leaving. ("Blast it again, genius.").

Shadow then jumped into the portal, which disappeared shortly after. Not giving Spyro or Cynder any time to try escaping through it, and following Shadow. They stared for a few seconds to the place shaking wildly around them.

-"Come on Cynder! We don't have much time!"- Said Spyro as he ran towards the room's center. He stared at the ceiling and prepared his attack.

-"But what are you going to...?"- Cynder was interrupted by the surprise of Spyro shooting an Earth Missile.

The attack hit the roof and destroyed it just like before, rubble falling. This time the hole was bigger, probably because of the damage already done by the tremors.

-"You go first Cynder!"- Said Spyro, not wasting any time, Cynder took off and entered the opening on the roof. Spyro did the same and went behind her. -"We need to go back! Once we reach the crossroad we have to take the way I breathed fire into!"- Cynder turned her head back, with a interrogating look on her face. -"I'll explain later! Come on!"-.

Cynder nodded rapidly with her face and turned around to continue moving. Both the dragons moved as fast as they could in the short hidden tunnel, running away while everything was being destroyed around them. They heard the sound of destruction around them outside of the tunnel. They knew they had not much time before everything went down, so they raised their pace and hoped they would be on time...

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Kate found herself walking along in a wide corridor. Having the company from the Ice Guardian and two young dragons, just a little younger than her. Erik was a electricity dragon who had mastered lots of abilities for his young age. His body was blue with a dark yellow underbelly and a lighter yellow wing membranes, he was happily trotting beside her. On her other side, Claire, Erik's sister was trying to keep up with their pace. She was a young Ice dragoness who had kind of a light gray body scales and white underbelly and wing membranes, she was quite skilled with her element also.<p>

Kate noticed how close she was to her destination and rushed to finish the story she had been telling to the brothers since she finished a delightful lunch.

-"And that is how I met Spyro and Cynder in the first place."- She said with a smile, watching the interest from the young brothers. Cyril was just looking around, at nothing, but he was not interested at all in the story he already knew. Kate would better leave him alone, she knew he was one of the most affected by her until that moment.

-"Wow... That rocks! What a lucky strike Kate!"- Said Erik happily.

-"I would have to agree with that!"- Commented Claire, she was making a great effort in both keeping up and trying to make her moves as graceful as possible. -"You really met the one who saved our world and his partner! You should be really glad you did."-.

-"Hee hee... Yes."- Giggled Kate as an answer. -"I most certainly am."-.

-"Still..."- Started to argument Erik. -"I don't know how those monsters managed to overpower you... Sure, your first fight and all, but come on! You had Spyro and Cynder by your side!"-.

-"Everyone has their break point, my dear."- Replied Kate, kind of with a wise air.

-"But Spyro...!"- Was all Erik managed to say before being interrupted by the incoming Volteer.

-"There is the boy! Come on Erik! We've got stuff to do."- Said Volteer while pointing towards another way with his head.

-"Aw... Looks like I got to go. Duty calls..."- Said Erik sadly. He then turned around and followed Volteer, who just nodded his head as a greeting to both Kate and Cyril. They then took an entrance that led to another part in the facility.

Claire faced Kate and spoke. -"Uhm... I think I'll get going too. I have got to make sure that my brother doesn't get into much trouble, you know."- She said with a smile. She then flapped her wings and went behind her brother and the Electricity Guardian.

-"Take care..."- Whispered Kate.

-"Perfect timing, huh?"- Said Cyril. Kate immediately noticed they were already arriving at the red gate from the training room. -"I have to say I'm a little surprised that you chose chatting over napping..."- He continued before opening the gate and entering the circular training ground once more.

-"Is just that those two are simply great!"- Replied Kate with a smile. She rushed to reach the room's center right after that.

-"I bet they are."- Said Cyril while going to the side of the room where he stood on while the training was going on. -"Remember the tough part of the training I told you was coming right next? Well, here it is. An illusion will be created, it will represent something you are afraid of, or filled with sorrow about. You will have to fight the dummies while watching, is something to control your emotions and feelings during combat. Shall we get started?"-.

-"Come on! I'm ready!"- Said Kate with confidence.

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><p>Cyril stomped on the ground and the whole room became dark. He knew he would not be able to see anything Kate happened to see, but he knew the session had started when four Dojo Dummies appeared. All he had to do since then was to watch how the orange dragoness handled the situation. A very simple system.<p>

He watched her fight and knock out one of the Dummies, but then something went wrong. One hit landed on Kate's flank and she shivered, not for the hit, but because on something she had just seen. Her body suddenly shrunk and she started to tremble, closing her eyes in fear. The three Dummies left took advantage of her weakness and started hitting her.

-"C... Cyril! I... I can't!"- She yelled in desperation.

-"This is no time for weakness! Get up and fight!"- Shouted Cyril, feeling anger flourish inside of him.

-"Seriously! Ma... Make... It..."- Kate couldn't talk for a few seconds. But when she did, her voice's sound was more angry than horrified... -"Stop!"-.

Kate's shout echoed several times inside the room before she stood up with a jump. Her eyes flashed red and stayed that way after a short blink... Kate glanced at Cyril with rage and he noticed how the earth under him started to shake. Not moving her wings, Kate started to rise above the ground and a pink circle appeared around her. A ring of purple fire also appeared with a five meter radius from where she had been standing, the Dummies were pushed away and disintegrated in the air into lots of small particles.

With a loud roar, a wave of black energy was released from her body and a enormous explosion could be heard. Both Dark and pink energy were released on even bigger amounts. The last thing Cyril could feel was everything shaking around him... The last he could see was Kate's eyes shining even brighter, big pieces of the roof falling all around, energy being shot in all directions and destroying everything... And a wave hit him with more power than he could ever imagine.

Then, it was all darkness...

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><p>Flashback/

Spyro was flying fast as he could, with Cynder always by his side. They were evading rocks that fell in what seemed to be a wide cave that occasionally opened to allow the sight of a valley and a devastated land in fire. They were actually flying to get outside of the defeated Destroyer...

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><p>.<p>

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><p>-"I should be able to provide some protection from the heat... Stay close to me..."-...<p>

/End of Flashback/

-"Spyro! Come on, we are almost there!"- Cynder's voice finally gave Spyro back his consciousness. The headache stopped just as suddenly as it came. It was probably the similar situation what reminded him of that single event, and that voice... Ignitus.

Spyro opened his eyes and stood up to quickly crawl the rest of the way. He could see the light from the exit just a few meters away. But there was also the rubble falling behind him with a loud noise, shattered rock advancing its way behind him, with the rush to take life away and crush their bones. Spyro saw how Cynder grabbed on to the edge of the exit and used a spring from her legs to jump outside and take off into the light.

-"Come on Spyro!"- She shouted from the outside.

Spyro made use of all his strength to move really fast and reach the edge. He was temporary blinded by the light, but he knew there was nothing to stop him on the other side, so he just took a leap of faith and jumped, blind. He didn't feel the shake any longer, all he heard was the noise of the collapse while he flapped his wings going straight forward. Until he had the comforting sensation of Cynder's front legs around him in a hug, stopping him.

-"Its ok Spyro. We did it, together."- Cynder whispered to his ear. He opened his eyes to look silently at her's for a few seconds. And then he turned around to stare at the castle.

-"I can't believe we went out of this one..."- Commented Spyro as he saw the towers collapse and lifted enormous clouds of dust. The earth kept shaking, rocks kept falling and the whole structure was going down.

-"Trust me Spyro... We have been worse."- She said while also contemplating. -"We should be going out now."- She then guided Spyro towards the exit door and both the dragons followed the cave to go out.

Once in the outside, they flew their way back to the valley, knowing they would have to spend a night there when they saw the orange sky in the plains. It took them two hours of flight until they saw the valley with the river. They were getting closer and knew they had to be back at Warfang as soon as possible to tell the guardians all they knew.

The dragons landed and walked their way towards the caves. All unexpectedly, Spyro heard a sound in his head,a voice... ("Hey guys! Have room for one more?").

-"Shadow?"- Said Spyro out loud in surprise.

-"What?"- Asked Cynder curious and concerned.

The dragons turned around and saw a dragon shape on the horizon. Which took off and revealed Shadow's figure when he landed a few steps away from them. He seemed fully recovered.

-"Why are you here? Who are you really with?"- Asked Spyro upset.

-"I'm here to help you... You see, I have sort of a personal issue on all this, and the time has come…"- Said Shadow with a weird smile.

-"You are not planning to share a cave with this one, are you?"- Whispered Cynder to Spyro's ear... He was immersed in his thoughts and unable to make a quick decision...

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><p>.<p>

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Here you go. I don't really feel like typing right now. So here you have all I have to say: "Next chapters will take a while... And so, loss of motivation, bla, bla, bla."<p>

Oh, also, before working on next chapter for this, I'll work on another short One-Shot... But I'm still not sure if I'll get to post it here.

Now THAT was all.

- Fenrir


	10. Shadow

A/N: Here you go! Next chapter is finally here, hope you like it! I will not make this Author's note too large, once more, so... Yeah, go over to the story.

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><p>.<p>

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Chapter 10: Shadow<p>

-"Shadow?"- Exclaimed Spyro. His surprise was unnmeasurable after having heard the voice in his head once more. Wasn't he gone? What did he want? He was supposed to be with Magnus at the time, something was just not right.

-"What?"- Replied Cynder while turning around to face Spyro, who turned around to face the way they had just came from, facing the castle's direction.

In the huge field behind them it was already dark, but a shadow shaped like a dragon could be seen. The figure took off to their position and landed with a quiet noise. Letting Spyro and Cynder recognize the dragon who had just attacked them. He stared at them with sort of a defying look.

-"Why are you here? Who are you really with?"- Said Spyro out loud at Shadow, who had asked him if they had room? What was he thinking about?

-"I'm here to help you... You see, I have sort of a personal issue on all this, and the time has come…"- Said Shadow with a smile, not a friendly one, that was of course. Spyro looked at him and back at Cynder.

-"You are not planning to share a cave with this one, are you?"- Whispered Cynder to Spyro's ear while he thought of the possibility, it was Shadow who helped them escape after all, but he was also the one to lead them to Magnus, not to mention attacking him and Cynder.

Two minutes of uncomfortable silence had to happen while Spyro was considering the options. All actions coming from the being who was willing to go with them had some sort of weight, it turned out to be a matter of what was heavier... -"Cynder... I think he should come."- Said Spyro determined.

-"Spyro! But he...!"- Started to argue Cynder.

-"I know... But he was also the one who guided me towards the exit, and he sort of helped me during the battle."- Replied Spyro.

-"He would have killed you if I hadn't broke free!"- Yelled Cynder in surprise. Shadow suddenly started laughing out loud.

-"Wait... Ha ha ha! You...? Do you actually think you broke free? Ha ha ha."- Laughed Shadow, Cynder just have him an angry, questioning look. After a few more seconds, Shadow's laughter calmed down and he spoke. -"It was me who weakened the barrier, it needed to look real... I seriously thought you would notice!"-.

-"It did get weaker..."- Thought Cynder out loud.

-"You threatened to hurt, to kill her if I spoke..."- Commented Spyro, as a point against his arrival.

-"Oh, what the...? How else was I supposed to make a conversation in your mind? If you had spoken, Magnus would have noticed something! It was all for the plan's sake."- Said Shadow, starting to grow defensive.

-"The plan, huh? I start to wonder what you are really planning."- Said Cynder, with a tone that made it sound like an interrogation.

-"I do have some things I need to know."- Said Spyro while showing a small pearl in his claw.

-"What is that? Did he...?"- Began Cynder.

-"Listen, we can stay like this all night long."- Said Shadow, a little upset. -"Can I have the honor of going with you or shall I find another way to get to Warfang? Even if I'm not with you, I'm not stopping."- He continued with determination.

-"Fine, come with us, we are spending the night on that cave. Don't worry Cynder, I'll be watching guard tonight."- Informed Spyro, starting to walk towards the cave he had already used before. Cynder followed him by his sideand Shadow also started to advance, keeping a respectful distance behind them.

-"Oh, come on!"- Exclaimed Shadow. -"You don't have to..."-.

-"I want to."- Said Spyro while he slashed wood from a tree nearby. He took them to light a fire.

-"At least let me help you with that."- Said Shadow as he took away some wood from Spyro.

Right after, Spyro took off and entered the cave, following the path up to the very bottom, where the strange Crystal was. Shadow set his wood on its position and Spyro made even a bigger pile using his. He then lighted them with a Fire Breath.

-"Good night to you both."- Said Spyro as he stood in the entrance to the small room.

-"Spyro, are you sure you want to do that? I can help."- Offered Cynder with a kind tone. She suddenly angered when she noticed Shadow was about to get laid just half a meter away from her. -"You! Go to the other side of the fire and don't dare to move!"-.

Shadow jolted back up and stood back, surprised. -"Whoa! Relax ma'am! I'm going to that wall, ok?"- He said while he pointed to the complete opposite side of her.

-"That is good. And don't worry, Cynder, you need a nice rest. Good night."- Said Spyro, encouraging her to sleep with his sight. -"I'm having a word with Shadow now."-.

-"Wait, I'm with you then."- Informed Cynder while jumping back on her feet and approaching Shadow. -"I need some explanations too."-.

-"Ok, fine. Just make it quick for today. We need to get to Warfang early."- Said Shadow before snoring.

-"Why is it so important that you come with us?"- Began Spyro, Cynder just gave Shadow a intimidating look. Which he replied with a sarcastic smile.

-"I need to assure the orange dragoness gets that pearl."- Said Shadow nodding his head to point Spyro. -"Besides, I've been a slave all my life. But the time to defeat Magnus is coming, and I have to earn my freedom. That is why I will help you."-.

-"But... Aren't you supposed to be with him right now?"- Inquired Cynder.

-"This is part of his plan. In case you defeated me, he would heal me with a spell."- Explained Shadow. -"That way, after escaping, I would go to another territory in order to gather more monsters, for an army. But I'm here instead."-.

-"Healing spells... No good news this far."- Whispered Spyro.

-"Isn't it going to be weird when you regroup and he has no army?"- Said Cynder, intrigued.

-"I got it covered."- Said Shadow happily. -"Now, I really think we should all get some sleep."-.

-"You wish."- Said Spyro while Cynder moved back to the spot where she had been laying. Spyro just stood by the exit and saw Shadow just nod to the idea of being watched all night.

-"Now I got babysitter... Good."- Laughed Shadow to himself. Spyro noticed Shadow knew there was nothing he could say to change things, so he just got laid. -"Good night to you both. Especially you, Spyro."-.

-"(At least he is smart...)"- Thought Spyro before getting his mind interrupted. ("Heard that!"). -"(Please stay away from here and go to sleep.)"-.

Cynder laid down next to the fire and stared at Spyro, but looking at the determination in his eyes, she also knew there was nothing she could possibly do. -"Good night Spyro."-.

-"Good night Cynder."- Replied Spyro with a smile. Cynder then shut her eyes and laid on her side. She seemed to be more comfortable like that.

Then, a perfect silence ruled the room. It would be a long night for Spyro from that moment...

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><p>The night was already advanced, the fire was almost completely extinguished but still radiating a weak heat. Spyro knew it could easily be already really early in the morning, his head was heavy as he stood by the slowly burning wood. A couple of times he did almost fall asleep, but he would not let Shadow try anything.<p>

Sleepy, he stared at Cynder in her peaceful sleep. The harmony was perfect like that one time he found Kate sleeping. He counted ten deep inspirations, listening to her breath...

He then watched Shadow, on the other side. He seemed to be cold because of the distance. Kind enough, Spyro breathed some fire to light stronger the wood. Still sleepy... Spyro saw something he had not noticed before, Shadow was wearing a strange necklace with a dark stone as core. He decided not to give it importance and ask Shadow about it in the morning.

Trying to stay awake, Spyro looked around at the cave. And it worked. He gasped and his heart raced in fear with his sudden sight when he stared at the Rainbow Colored crystal on the deepest part of the cave...

Standing on the other side of the huge block, was the scariest creature Spyro had ever seen. Its breath could be sighted in the form of a small amount of steam... The creature had burning red eyes and claws that doubled the size of Spyro's. It stood on the two hind legs and its position was rather curved in the back. The light from the fire revealed its while body was a bright red color, and two long and deathly horns were born on its head. Spyro could see the creature's deep breaths as it approached the crystal from the other side and placed its open claw on it...

Spyro gulped and his heart pounded like crazy, was it just his imagination? Was he too sleepy to be watching things? Unable to get to Spyro, the creature breathed heavily and glared at him with intense rage burning on its bright eyes... Spyro, intimidated, gave a step back and gasped once more when another creature emerged from the darkness. Spyro's breath was really nervous and fast paced... The other creature also glared at him from the crystal. Making a slow gesture, the second creature grabbed the first's claw from the barrier and guided it down. They both glared at Spyro for a few more seconds and then turned around, the creatures walked through the path on the other side and then disappeared in the darkness.

Spyro's breath was faster than he thought it could. He was sweating... The cave suddenly became colder, like if a strong wind was blowing inside from the Rainbow Stone... Spyro noticed he was trembling a little... Then, all suddenly... ("SPYRO!").

-"Ah!"- Spyro then noticed the voice came from his mind. It was Shadow talking again. ("You seem nervous... Everything alright?"). Spyro slowly calmed down before replying. -"I just... I must be seeing things..."-.

("Better talk in here, in case Cynder wakes up..."). -("Yes... Hey, what is with the necklace?")-. ("Magnus gave it to me, he will use it to call me when is time to regroup. I'll have two days to find him where Malefor was defeated, in order to start a ritual to bring him back. Don't worry, it can be prevented, I'll let you know all you need later.").

Spyro looked at Shadow, he appeared to be asleep on the ground. No movement other than his breath, eyes completely closed. There was one more thing to know for Spyro. -"(Why is it so important that Kate gets the pearl?)"-. Spyro watched Shadow slightly open an eye to stare at him.

("It draws darkness away. I know the kind of trouble you should be having with Kate. Besides that, your nightmares started ever since the moment she stood by her side. Magnus is using her. Her dark powers allow Magnus to keep you watched, to enter your dreams and know everything you are doing. Did you notice you had no nightmares that night you spent here? Away from her.").

-"(You are right)"- Replied Spyro, thoughtful. ("He is using her to keep his eye on you. But the connection will be cut as soon as Kate holds that. It will be also good for your relationship with her."). Shadow closed his eyes again and whispered... ("I'll go back to sleep now. Take care.").

Spyro simply nodded with his head and watched the dragons he was sharing a cave with sleep. It would not be too long until the morning. But every short while he watched towards the Rainbow Stone... There seemed to be something like the waving light of a fire on the other side...

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><p>Sunlight had already entered the cave in low amounts. Spyro had seen none of the strange creatures again, after his talk, it had been quite a peaceful night, but it was time to wake up now. The people dragon slowly advanced towards Cynder and gently shook her, Cynder opened her eyes immediately.<p>

-"Oh, it is you Spyro... Good morning. Was the night good?"- Asked Cynder with a sleepy face. She stood up right next.

-"I'll just say I'm sleeping a whole day once I get back with the guardians. Good morning!"- Replied Spyro smiling. He then went over to Shadow and awakened him with quite a stronger shake. -"Wake up, we are leaving."- He informed.

-"Ugh... Five more minu... Whoa!"- Shadow suddenly opened his eyes and jolted awake. He looked around a while and then stared at Cynder, who was laughing at him.

-"That is better enslaved boy... You said it yourself, we need to get early to Warfang!"- Said Cynder, nearly shouting. She then advanced towards the exit.

Shadow gave Spyro a sarcastic laugh. -"What a girl..."- He laughed before following Cynder. Spyro, a little tired, followed from behind.

Once in the cave's entrance, Cynder looked back at them and smiled at Spyro. She was the first one to take off and fly, leading the way to Warfang. The day was nice and warm. A few minutes had to pass before she spoke.

-"I don't think he can revive Malefor... He is gone now."- She commented in a whisper.

-"Did you see him die?"- Inquired Shadow.

-"Yes."- Replied Cynder with confidence.

-"Come on! Spyro, help me out on this one?"- Said Shadow out loud.

Spyro denied by shaking his head. -"Sorry... I cannot remember... A single thing..."-.

-"You'll understand once you do, then."- Finished Shadow with a smile.

The rest of the flight was really quiet. Cynder didn't want to speak with Shadow and Spyro was really tired. Cynder then saw something that called her attention.

-"And here we got Warf... Oh shit! That is smoke!"- Yelled Cynder looking at the place where she had stayed with Spyro.

-"What?"- Spyro then sighted the dark cloud coming from the hill outside of Warfang. There were a lot of dragons gathered around. -"We have to get there!"-.

The three dragons paced up and raced towards the hill, not stopping at Warfang. They landed right next to the crowd of dragons and moles, curious about what happened. They tried to get through with no luck.

-"Step aside! Out of the way!"- Yelled Spyro while pushing other dragons to move. He didn't advance too much before getting blocked. He stepped back. -"We need to get there!"- He said nervously.

-"Move you bunch of...!"- Cynder was about to curse when a young voice interrupted.

-"Cynder...? Cynder! Spyro! Over here!"- Shouted Erik from a high spot. -"Take off! We need you here!"-.

Spyro, Cynder and Shadow took off and followed Erik towards the closest spot to the destroyed building. There were purple flames all over the place, Just a few structures were still standing, with blocks falling down. Terrador and Volteer where standing there.

-"What happened here?"- Asked Spyro, Claire landed by their side.

-"Some sort of energy destroyed the whole place! We barely escaped alive!"- She informed while hugging Erik.

Mira and Ariana landed next to the guardians with a worried look. -"Terrador... The crowd needs answers..."- Informed Mira with a quiet tone.

-"We don't know...!"- Yelled Terrador in an outburst, Volteer tried to calm him down. Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the building... A orange dragoness went outside of the building through a hole.

-"He is not here also... Spyro!"- She said.

Spyro saw how Shadow gave a small step back and his eyes got lit with a sparkle when he sighted Kate... Spyro heard him whisper a few words. -"Even more beautiful than I thought..."- He said with an exhalation.

Kate hastened towards Spyro and hugged him. -"Is good to see you well..."- She said before bursting into tears. Cynder took a quick look around, unable to believe the scene before her eyes, complete chaos...

-"What's wrong?"- Asked Spyro trying to comfort Kate, but he was really shocked himself.

Claire advanced towards him with sadness in her eyes... Sparx suddenly jumped out of nowhere. -"Brother! You are fine! And... Who is this one...?"-.

-"Its not time for introductions... Claire?"- he said with a questioning look.

Tears flowed from her eyes before she was able to speak with a gasp. -"Spyro... We can't find Cyril..."-.

-"What?"- Exclaimed Spyro in surprise...

-"Ever since the explosion... Kate was with Cyril, but she was found unconscious and with no memory of the event."- Explained Claire holding her tears back.

-"I'm sorry Spyro."- Apologized Kate while holding him tightly.

-"Not your fault, Kate... I bet this has something to do with Magnus..."- Assured Spyro, hugging her back. -"We got something for you."- He said while showing her the pearl. -"Shadow here wants you to have it."-.

-"Thanks... Shadow?"- She said with a smile. She then grabbed the small pearl and put it in a small bag tied to her neck. Somehow, the atmosphere suddenly felt lighter... Everybody gave a deep breath, freed from a huge weight of darkness.

-"It is my pleasure ma'am."- He said while approaching Kate, who blushed a little. -"It shall make your life easier from now on."- Said Shadow with a smile. He gently grabbed and kissed her claw.

Spyro by their side cleared his throat. -"Kate, I will explain later. We have to look for Cyril...! I... I'm glad to see you too."-.

-"You better leave that to them..."- Said Shadow, still looking at Kate. -"We should be going, I expect to get Magnus' call tomorrow. If you want to prevent Malefor's return, we have to go as soon as possible, is a long trip."-.

-"Start explaining."- Demanded Cynder.

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><p>Cynder listened with attention to Shadow's words. -"There is a forest, quite far away. Inside, there is a network of caves, which will be hosting the ritual, since it is the place where Malefor rests imprisoned. We need to get there."-.<p>

-"Then we go."- Informed Spyro, he then turned around to take off, but he was stopped by Volteer.

-"Be careful, young dragon."- Said Volteer with a smile.

-"We will."- Rushed to reply Cynder. -"You find Cyril so we can celebrate once we get this over with."-. She the stood by Spyro's side.

-"Shadow will lead the way."- Said Spyro, determined. He then stretched his wings before taking off, but he was interrupted again.

-"Wait! I'm going with you! I have combat basics now... I can help! And there is no way you will stop me."- Said Kate while she joined the dragon formation.

-"Me too. No better training than a good adventure."- Rushed to say Erik, breaking apart from his sister's hug. Claire stared at him with sadness...

-"You are right... But they need me here..."- This time, Claire could not hold on and bursted into tears. She advance and hugged Erik once more. She gently kissed his cheek. -"Promise to take care, little brother."-.

-"You are just two hours older."- Laughed Erik silently. -"I promise."-. He said before opening his eyes and breaking apart to go straight to Spyro's position.

-"Alright then."- Said Spyro waiting for everyone to be ready. He then placed Shadow in the lead and slightly nodded. -"Lets go."-.

Cynder somehow was unable to see Kate with the same hatred as before. She saw her get ready to take off and thought of Kate's courage for such a young dragoness... She seemed nice...

But Cynder did not have to fall. She knew Kate wanted Spyro, but Cynder would not give her the chance. She would do anything necessary for Spyro to remember, or to keep Kate away.

Spyro and Shadow took off, followed by Kate and Cynder. Erik stayed grounded for a short while, to look back at his sister... He then turned around and took off to follow the group of dragons.

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><p>Suddenly, in midair, Spyro's head started to ache with strength... He immediately lost his strength and started falling down, unconscious...<p>

The last thing he felt was his fall, the last thing he could hear was Cynder's frightened scream. -"Spyro!"-...

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><p>AN: There you have! Hope you enjoyed the result of my work!

Let me explain... Chapters are taking a while to be written because of the detail and because of the characters I'm putting into it. I'm not making this a long Note, so if you want even more detail, you can check the post on my blog that will concern this chapter. Hopefully you will find a good explanation there.

For those who simply don't care about anything else than the story... See you next chapter!

Oh, I would REALLY appreciate a review. Thank you. Also, I would really appreciate if you went over to my profile and took a few seconds to answer the poll, It would help me!

- Fenrir


	11. Flight

A/N: See all waits are worth it? A little... I hope you like this new chapter. With no further ado, there you go!

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><p>Chapter 11: Flight<p>

Cynder had been flying for about just two minutes, they hadn't advanced too much, but the height was already considerable. She suddenly noticed something was wrong when she saw Spyro lean his head down, like feeling pain. She witnessed how his wings slowly stopped to move and then he fell. She reacted as fast as she could.

-"Spyro!"- Shouted Cynder. She quickly dove in the air and spun. Her reaction was just a matter of half a second, about two hundred meters separated the dragons from the ground. Giving her time to adapt her body to the air and reach the fastest speed she had ever reached.

The whole group of dragons stopped in midair, and watched just on time to see Cynder round the purple dragon's neck with her forearms, stopping the fall. They were all impressed by her reaction speed.

-"Wow, Cynder, that was awe..."- Said Kate, unable to finish her affirmation because of Cynder's effort.

-"Whatever! A little help here!"- Shouted Cynder while holding Spyro. She had no problem to resist his weight, but she was unable to regain altitude due to it.

-"I'm on it!"- Said Shadow as both him and Erik descended towards Cynder. Shadow was arriving and about to grab Spyro's legs, but Cynder glared at him and moved aside with Spyro.

-"You keep your claws off him! Erik, would you help me please?"- She said, rejecting Shadow, who stared at her and then encouraged Erik to proceed with a gesture. After a few seconds Kate joined them.

-"Got you covered Cyn."- Said Erik. Right after that he flew down and held both Spyro's right claws with his left. -"You grab his left, we will have to turn him in order to advance."-.

-"Is he okay?"- Asked Kate with concern while watching them turn Spyro's body.

-"Breath, pulse... He is fine, probably getting memories back. But we have to advance. Erik will help me."- Said Cynder after making a quick overview. She knew Spyro should be back soon, so they wouldn't have to carry him for too long. -"Shadow, you go back to lead they way, Erik and I will stay in the rear with Spyro."-.

-"Alright. We should head west from here."- Said Shadow before gaining some altitude. Back to where they were before. The rest of the dragons followed him staying in the back when Shadow started to advance once more.

-"Here is an idea, Kate. You should go with Shadow, he looks lonely."- Commented Erik. -"You are a great company after all!"-

-"That is fine, there are some things you still don't know about him."- Said Cynder in a cold tone, staring at Shadow in front of them for a while.

-"I agree with Erik. I'll go with him. Good luck!"- Replied Kate with a shiny smile. She then turned around and spun a single time. Laughing because of something Cynder could not completely explain, she left to fly by the dark dragon's side.

Five minutes passed silently as the dragons flew, Spyro still not coming back. Cynder started to worry about him on her insides, the time was already getting long. She stared at Erik, who just looked around at the scenery while helping her hold the purple dragon.

They were soaring above a green valley that resembled Avalar, with a river flowing through it. There were also yellow and red flowers spread all over the grassy field. The sun shine reflected on the water and a light wind made the few trees move their leaves in harmony with the river's flow. Cynder spoke in an attempt to make the trip a little more comfortable.

-"So, Erik. Shall we get to know each other better?"- Asked Cynder looking at his young companion.

-"Uh... Sure! We have never spoke much, it was normally because of your mood, you know..."- Started Erik, but he stopped himself when he sighted Cynder look away in embarrassment. -"What do you want to know?"- He said with a smile.

-"Well, have you got many friends?"- She asked, not knowing anything about Erik before getting to the facility on Warfang.

-"Nope, not before you guys. It has normally been just Claire and me."- Replied Erik. He let out a weak laugh right after.

-"Why would that be? You are such a nice dragon..."- Affirmed Cynder, she did happen to like him. Not treating with him, she did notice he was cool and funny.

-"After mom left us, we had to move on by our own."- He began to narrate, but once again he stopped quickly. -"You don't want to hear this, it can get long."- Warned Erik with a laugh.

Cynder didn't speak for a few seconds, she could feel Spyro's body shaking weakly. Erik had probably noticed also. Could Magnus be talking to him again? The thought of the other option made Cynder blush a little. What memories could he be getting back? Would she have an "I love you too", or would she be hurt? Would it be better if he didn't remember? Suddenly, a strong blow of cold wind brought Cynder back to her conversation with Erik.

-"Ehm... Oh, if we consider Shadow's directions, I think we have plenty of time."- She replied with a smile.

-"Okay, but I'll make it short!"- Warned the young dragon, smiling back at her. -"Basically, Claire decided she would work, to earn money for my school. She is always looking after me, you know. But after a month I had to quit the school, there was a problem with this group of bullies..."-. Remembered Erik.

-"Oh, come on! You shouldn't have let something as stupid as bullying to stop you from studying!"- Said Cynder, surprised of what she was listening to, but what came next was even more surprising...

-"I didn't!"- Said Erik with a weak laugh. -"They pissed me, and I happened to kill two of them."- Cynder was even more surprised to see Erik's smile did not disappear, he just stared forward. -"So, we had to run away from Ifriem, the small town we lived in. After a lot of traveling, we settled down there, in Warfang."-.

-"You..."- Was the only thing Cynder could say with her astonishment.

-"After starving for a while, we changed the technique. I would work, to pay for Claire's studies, and a few food besides the small rodents we hunted. My work was hard, and not very well paid. At each day's end, we met at our small cave, and Claire taught me stuff from school."- Continued Erik. -"She was the best teacher I could ask for, but she had her own problems I just didn't know about yet... I think I owe my sister more than I can ever give her."- He assured with a smile, but he was no longer looking at Cynder, he was thoughtful.

-"How did you even end up with the guardians?"- Asked Cynder, unable to suppress the surprise.

-"Back then I was an uncontrolled beast... I remember my early years as a teen. When I was not working or "Home" with Claire I got into fights, street fights. Claire didn't know about it, it felt bad having to hide her something. But I didn't want to hurt her. Ever heard about the Blue Blur?"- Asked Erik.

-"I think I was frozen that time..."- Said Cynder, she couldn't even recall any special event in Warfang. -"But now I see why you didn't have any friends..."-.

-"I earned quite a reputation, feared. I am a really good fighter, in two years, I was defeated a single time. Lets suppose I had two fights every afternoon."- Remembered Erik, this time he was more serious. -"The Blue Blur was my nickname, because "He strikes before you can even notice". I killed many more, really dark times. I had fun in killing other dragons, this thirst of blood... Claire got me out of that, I was once more saved by my sis... But the memory of her pain when she found out about my fights, that face still torments me. I had hurt the only one I cared about... Anyway, she had a surprise for me, the Fire Guardian was interested in my skills!"-.

-"You met Ignitus?"- Inquired Cynder with interest.

-"I can still remember his look when he saw me, a hard worker, a cold blooded killer... Just dragged out of a merciless world. He gave me a chance to make my life worthy."- He said. Cynder could notice how his speak tone became happier. -"I'm training more to command the dragon army soon enough. My attitude towards other dragons has improved. I think this is the real me, just that life didn't treat me too well."-.

-"I understand, Erik..."- Said Cynder when she could speak. -"I have done many things I'm not proud of myself."- She suddenly realized how circumstances didn't help any of them.

-"The Terror Of The Skies..."- Whispered Erik giving her a look of trust. -"You were a little worse."- He said smiling.

-"Yeah, but Spyro freed me. I still don't know how I will ever make up for all the damage I did."- Said Cynder with embarrassment. She then saw how Erik gave her one of his free claws, in a gesture for Cynder to clap her's.

-"To moving on."- Proposed the young dragon with a smile. Cynder couldn't help but to smile back at him. She was about to clap her claw, but suddenly, Spyro shook with strength, making them loose balance. She heard the purple dragon give a gasp, and she then saw him raise his head...

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><p>Kate flew a little faster to close the distance, between her and the dark dragon in the lead. She was a little intrigued by the character, but she had something to say. Kate happily reached his side.<p>

-"Hey there!"- She greeted out loud, Kate watched Shadow's body jolt by the surprise. The black dragon turned to look at her and nodded. He seemed to get a little nervous. -"Shadow, isn't it?"-.

-"W... We didn't get a proper introduction, did we?"- He said, trying to avoid eye contact. Kate just smiled, as usual. A few uncomfortable second passed before he spoke again. -"Nice to meet you, Kate."-.

-"Nope. But I really had to thank you! That pearl is great. I just don't know why would you...? I mean, we are just meeting after all!"- Said Kate before taking the pearl out of her bag. She playfully stared at it while awaiting for an answer. Shadow turned to look at her for a single second and then moved his head to sight front.

-"Didn't you give Spyro a necklace?"- Inquired Shadow. Kate suddenly felt a strange warmth in her body, as a few memories came back.

-"That.."- Whispered Kate, she then shook her head. She had to prove Spyro she could fight along with him, so she pushed away all the emotion she could. -"That was different, I don't think you'd understand."- Finished Kate with a smile. -"How do you know that anyway?"-.

-"Yeah, uh... Lets just leave that aside."- Answered Shadow, Kate could notice he was a little anxious. But he spoke right after. -"It draws darkness away. You will not be a problem..."-. Suddenly, Shadow stopped talking.

Kate just lifted a confused eyebrow, that was definitely not the best to say. A little mean. Shadow had been thoughtful for a few seconds, when he realized what he had just said.

-"Oh! No, Kate! I... I didn't mean that!"- He explained, a little nervous. Kate found it a little funny, she was kind of used not to be treated the best. -"I'm sorry, I am so sorry!"-.

Kate giggled silently before replying. -"Don't worry!"- She then gave a slight pat on her partner's back, but she felt a shiver flow trough it. Shadow flapped his wings with strength and moved away from her quickly. He nervously looked at her, with a small smile. A whole minute passed before she tried to make a conversation again. -"And... Well, what is your element? I tried hard to guess, but..."-.

-"It is hard to guess. Not even I know. I have learned to master darkness, and I have psychic capabilities, somehow."-. Said Shadow while he got a little closer. Kate was surprised to hear Shadow's voice in her head. ("Weird, huh?").

-"Wow! You got to show me how to do that! I have some abilities too."- Said Kate with surprise. She had never seen another dragon whose abilities were similar to her's.

-"I know how you feel, I can know what you think, I could look into your memory... But I rather keep everyone with their stuff. You know, it is not comfortable to have someone in your head. So I mostly use this to communicate."- Replied Shadow with a proud tone and a smile. -"There are many things this powers are useful for."-.

-"I know, I healed Spyro once."- She said in excitement. -"Would you like to show me some stuff?"-. Kate noticed how Shadow blushed a little.

-"I would be honored to."- Replied Shadow, Kate noticed how he looked deep into her eyes for the first time. She was able to see some sort of spark in his dark orange eyes as a smile appeared on his face.

-"What is it?"- Asked Kate with embarrassment.

-"I'm sorry that it took so long to find you..."- Said Shadow before turning his head to face front again.

-"What do you mean, Shadow?"- Asked Kate, for some reason her heart started beating faster. She felt a embarrassment blush slowly appear.

-"Kate, I... I sort of have..."- Shadow stopped, Kate could see how he thought of what words to say next. -"There is something I need to tell you, Kate. I..."-.

Shadow was not able to finish his words. Cynder's sudden shout in the back interrupted him. -"Hold on! Spyro!"-. Both Kate and Shadow stopped in the air and turned around to see Spyro struggling to break free from Erik and Cynder. His movement made them loose balance...

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><p>Flashback/

Spyro heard the voice of the only dragon father he knew inside his head, it was all darkness. But there was a voice, a voice Spyro missed for too long.

-"Spyro, when a dragon dies, he does not truly leave this world. His spirit lives on, binding itself with nature, offering hope for the future..."-

The voice faded, leaving Spyro's mind confused. It took a little more time in the dark void before other voice appeared, he heard himself. His own sorrow filled voice echoed in the emptiness.

-"It wasn't supposed to be like this. I feel so alone..."-.

An unexpected voice followed, it was Cynder. -"You are not alone."-.

The voice faded, but this time so did darkness to clear an image. Spyro saw himself flying down along with Cynder. All around him there was fire, burning rocks and destruction. In fact, the platform where he was heading was falling. Malefor was slightly elevated in front of them with a evil smile. Cynder and him were stopped dry by Malefor's sudden shout.

-"You cannot defeat me, I am eternal!"- Roared the Dark Master before shooting a Convexity Beam towards them.

In the short time they had to react, still airborne, Spyro and Cynder used their fury breath in an attempt to counter the Dark Master. The previous battle had given all the energy they needed, but it didn't seem to be enough. Their power struggled with Malefor's, and it was about to be defeated...

Then Spyro turned his eyes to stare at Cynder he watched her in the same struggle. Both holding their attacks, Cynder looked back at him for a second. Spyro could feel a strange warmth deep in his soul, a new source of strength he could not fully explain. Was it trust? Was it friendship? Was it... Love? Could it be?

Spyro felt the need to move on, the need to win and entrust a future for Cynder and the rest of the world. But he first had to keep his spirit up, and so had to do Cynder.

-"Just hang on!"- Encouraged Spyro with difficulty. But he felt his strength get even more powerful, and he noticed so did Cynder's. It just took a few seconds for the battle to turn against Malefor, who opened his eyes wide in surprise before being hit by the young dragons' fury.

Spyro's feeling of victory did not last long, when he saw Malefor get back up on his feet, nearly unharmed. Spyro stood back, the battle had been long and exhausting, he didn't know what to try next, was there any way to defeat the Dark Master?

Malefor gave two steps forward, ready to continue with the fight, but a sudden purple shine stopped him. Purple lights surrounded him with a burst before elevating in the air and revealing the figures of five dragons.

Spyro could not recognize any, but he knew deep inside him that there was no good news for the Dark Master. Spyro watched Malefor look at the figures, trying to understand the situation, but a frightened look appeared in Malefor's face.

-"What is this?"- Asked Malefor with a demanding shout. Two of the unknown dragons stared at each other and slightly nodded. With a quick move, the five purple ghosts dove towards the Dark Master and hit him with a loud sound. -"No!"- Roared Malefor in desperation while a purple portal of some sort dragged him down. After a single second, only his claw was visible, struggling to break free. But he could not. The Dark Master disappeared inside the earth. It was all finally over.

The entire scene disappeared before his eyes, so did Cynder and his own body. He was again in the darkness. But suddenly, a light shined. Black turned to white. And Spyro felt a great pressure... Ignitus' voice echoed once more.

-"Do not view this chain as a hindrance... But allow it to be a reminder of the bond you two share. Your destinies are now intertwined. And that thought is a hopeful one."-. The light became brighter right after...

/End of Flashback/

Spyro gasped and opened his eyes, getting back to reality with a jolt. His mind was confused and he felt something was holding his claws, Spyro didn't like the sensation. He heard a known voice speak.

-"To moving on."- Spyro thought of it for a second, and it sounded like Erik's voice... In half a second, he remembered what he had been doing and raised his head. He saw Erik and Cynder carrying him, upside down. He turned his head and looked down to see a huge distance between him and the ground.

-"Whoa!"- Exclaimed Spyro in surprise before shaking his body and moving his legs fiercely. He had to break free.

-"Hold on! Spyro!"- Yelled Cynder, unable to keep her balance. Spyro twisted his ankles and shook his legs, breaking free.

He felt relief for a second, but the next thing he felt was his body falling in the air. Spyro moved his hip with strength to turn around and opened his wings wide. He had stopped the fall and flapped his wings to stay in the position. A little dizzy, he looked up.

Cynder and Erik were about six meters higher than him, while Kate and Shadow were about nine meters higher than him. They all stared at him with curiosity, Cynder with sort of relief. Spyro calmed down and flapped his wings stronger, flying towards Erik and Cynder. Kate and Shadow flew down to meet up with them all.

-"You know, you could have just told us that you were awake so we could let go..."- Commented Erik, turning his eyes.

-"Sorry, I was kind of shocked..."- Apologized Spyro.

-"Glad you are back, I was kind of getting worried here."- Said Cynder, Spyro stared at her, confused.

-"I just saw it, what Shadow talked about."- Informed Spyro, while he recalled what he had just seen. A purple portal, five ghosts diving into Malefor... -"We did not watch Malefor die, Cynder."-.

Shadow interrupted with an explanation. -"It was the ancestors. They imprisoned Malefor in a crystal underground, that is why we will find him in the caves."-. He said, Cynder was suddenly angered.

-"You are right, he disappeared underground! What the hell! How comes the ancestors didn't finish him once and for all?"- She outbursted.

-"They had the chance and didn't kill him once more... Is it possible that they still hold the hope that Malefor will change his ways?"- Questioned Spyro, it all made sense now. Magnus was not going to revive Malefor, he was going to break him free.

-"Probably, but we will take no chances."- Said Shadow, trying to calm the situation. -"The Purple Dragon can enter and go right through the crystal, you can get to the Dark Master's heart."- He informed with a smile of complicity.

-"If the ancestors will not kill Malefor, we will."- Finished Spyro.

-"So, exactly why are the rest of us here?"- Asked Erik with curiosity. Kate stared at him and smiled.

-"First of all, because you wanted to."- Said Spyro would pointing at them with a claw.

Shadow finished. -"We all need to buy time for Spyro. Magnus has troops around, and he can stop Spyro with his powers."-.

-"So, we have to fight him, and them."- Said Kate, a little nervous.

-"And me."- Said Shadow with a smile. -"I shall be gone of your side tomorrow to pose at his. But I can help you."-.

-"But why would you do that?"- Asked Kate with surprise.

-"We met him in the castle, he is Magnus' right hand."- Said Cynder as an answer, her voice's sound was like a cautious whisper. -"But it seems like he has something else in mind..."-. She glared at Shadow for a moment. Kate was shocked.

-"Whoa, let me get this straight... So, this Magnus is the bad guy who wants to bring Malefor back. And we are hanging around with his assistant?"- Asked Erik in a sarcastic tone.

-"I'm here to help you!"- Said Shadow, getting defensive. -"All I want is to have my life back."-.

-"I know how you feel."- Whispered Spyro.

-"I can't believe it!"- Said Kate in surprise, Shadow stared at her, like apologizing.

-"We should better get going."- Said Shadow. -"We should keep going straight for a while more."-.

-"How do we know we can trust you?"- Inquired Erik, Shadow turned his eyes and answered in a slightly aggressive way.

-"You have no other way to get to Magnus, do you?"- He said with a smile. Erik turned to look at Spyro, who denied with a gesture of his head. -"Then you don't have much of a choice, but to trust the chance I'm giving you."-.

-"We can move while talking, you know."- Said Kate with a giggle.

-"Good idea. Will you trust on me and follow for a while? Or should we wait for Malefor to be back?"- Immediately after speaking, Shadow flapped his wings and advanced forward. Spyro followed him closely, Cynder and the rest didn't take too long to catch up.

The dragons flew quietly for a few more miles, until Shadow slowed down a little, he whispered something to Spyro before going to the back of the formation. -"Keep on going straight until I tell you to turn, okay? I got something to do."-. Spyro nodded in agreement and Shadow moved back.

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><p>Kate happily followed the group, but as usual, there was something in her that that was concerned. Would she be ready for an actual fight? How could she help? There was also other part of her, confused about her own feelings. She was filled with joy, was it real? Could she finally have a normal life while holding a pearl? Too good to be truth!<p>

But the same thing that filled her with happiness also gave her one unexpected sadness. She liked it when only Spyro could get close, when only he could understand and comfort her. Was that too wrong? What was that warm feeling she never had the opportunity to have for someone else before? She suddenly realized how much she had missed the purple dragon while he had been away, she wanted him to be the only one again. Spyro's company seemed to be everything Kate needed, all she wished for...

The sight of Shadow going towards her drove Kate out of her thoughts. Back to a single truth she hadn't expected, and the only words she could think about came out. -"I thought I could trust you."-.

-"You can."- Said Shadow with a resignation tone. -"And I have to let you know, I'm here for you. In any sense you can imagine, okay?"-.

Kate shivered, he was the one who could either lead them to victory or to a trap. Shadow was the one who gave her the pearl, the one who had been nothing but kind to her since the first minute. Kate hesitated to answer, but her own nature eventually forced her to trust. A smile slowly appeared in her face.

-"Alright Shadow."- She answered, getting a smile out of the black dragon.

-"Very good."- Said Shadow, he slowly got closer by her side. -"Anything you may need. You know you can come to me."-. Kate blushed a little, and what happened next was completely unexpected.

Shadow, both carefully and slowly approached his head to her's. He gently kissed her cheek... Kate reacted immediately with surprise. -"What are you doing?"-.

-"Sorry Kate."- He said while smiling and moving backwards. He then spun and headed towards Spyro's position while yelling. -"We are not too far now! Turn right!"-.

He then flew off, leaving Kate with a strange sensation. She was somehow even more confused than before...

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><p>-"So, Shadow, will you start explaining how did Malefor end up in a forest so far away?"- Asked Cynder when she saw Shadow come back. She had been following Spyro closely, and so had been Erik. Now the only one who was a little left behind was Kate, but it didn't take too long for her to catch up.<p>

Cynder in fact started to sight a forest in the distance. They were soaring over a mountain, and a rather cold weather could be sensed. Just a few more miles until the forest.

She could notice how he turned his eyes before replying. -"I already told you, the ancestors used their power to..."-.

-"Yeah, but shouldn't he be underground near the place where both of us woke up?"- She questioned while looking at Spyro.

-"You were in the center of the world."- Replied Shadow, managing to make it sound quite obvious. -"You should know that a few centimeters could have become meters when the world was pulled back together."-.

-"That also explains why I couldn't find Spyro at first..."- Reasoned Cynder in silence.

-"Yes, and why Kate appeared so close."- He whispered to her with a laugh. -"Alright everyone! We should land before entering the forest!"- Ordered Shadow while starting to fly lower, they all followed his lead.

-"Why can't we just fly over it and get straight to those caves?"- Asked Erik with doubt.

-"Magnus told me he would set traps for the air. We cannot take the risk. We will have to walk through it, that is why we came with time."-. Answered Shadow before landing. The other dragons landed by both his sides. -"Be welcome."- He laughed.

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><p>Spyro stepped forward in order to enter the forest in front of them. When the sudden whistle of something thrown at him made the purple dragon stop dry. Surprised, he was able to step back just before a spear's sharp head was dug in his front claw. He quickly sighted the creature that threw it, once again, a creature like the ones from the castle.<p>

He performed a Comet Dash towards it and hit with strength, making it fly and crash against a tree. Once there, Spyro used a Fire Breath to both make damage and blind it while he got closer. Spyro used his chance to move forward and dig his claw on its neck. In case that was not enough, he also bit the other side of the neck to tear a piece off, while he opened a wound with the claw. The creature moaned in pain and died right after.

Spyro could hear Kate gasp and he turned around to see her close her eyes. He realized he had blood in all his mouth.

-"And this is why I wanted you away from all of this. See Kate?"- He said before licking the blood to clean his face a little.

-"I... I have witnessed another battle already. I will be fine!"- She argued before looking back at him.

Spyro was about to reply, but the sound of something moving towards them stopped him. Five enemies suddenly appeared from the forest and surrounded them with swift moves, to everyone's surprise. Spyro saw how this time they didn't hold spears, but long swords that seemed to be able to easily slice a huge rock... The five dragons closed together.

-"Get ready to fight. Incoming!"- Yelled Spyro while the foes stepped towards them, he watched the monsters lift their swords in the air and attack with a fierce swing...

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><p>AN: I don't have lots of time for the AN, you are lucky enough to have this chapter posted today.

More info on the blog, seriously, right now I can't make a new post about this. Hope you liked the chapter!  
>Please, Please... PLEASE! Leave a review!<p>

Blog post will come when I get over some personal trouble I'm into, once again, you can read about it there.

PLEASE REVIEW!

- Fenrir


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